DSP Mohammed Ayub Pandith’s wife (right) being consoled during his funeral in Srinagar on Friday. Tribune photo: Yawar Kabli

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 23

Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohammed Ayub Pandith, 57, had left his Nowpora home at 8.30 pm for his night duty at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid, located three kilometres from his home. During the night, when the pictures of an unidentified man, who was lynched outside the mosque, spread on the social media and WhatsApp, the family could not recognise him.“Many in our family had seen the picture, but none could identify him,” said his cousin Mohammad Abdullah Pandit. “At 5.20 am, we were told to identify the body and everyone was in shock.”Abdullah claimed that it was for the first time after joining the police, Pandith was deployed at Jamia Masjid. The family also received a call from the police at around 3 am inquiring whether Pandith had returned home or not.As the body reached home, the family members wailed and neighbours also assembled to offer condolences. Emotional scenes were seen at his home. He was laid to rest at his native place in Nowpora.The officer is survived by wife, son Danish, who is a businessman, and daughter Sana, who is doing MBBS in Bangladesh.“Sana had arrived a few days ago to celebrate Eid and she was to leave on Tuesday,” another family member said.Pandith’s colleagues remembered him as one of the finest officers. “He was known to be one of the most decent and dedicated officer,” ADGP (Security) Dilbagh Singh said.Pandith had joined the police in 1990 as a Sub-Inspector. After completing his basic training in 1992, he was posted at Pulwama. He was promoted to the Deputy Superintendent of Police’s post in 2013 and was posted with the security wing.