BATAGUND KAPRI (SHOPIAN): The close friendship of SPO Kulwant Singh and constable Firdaus Ahmad Kuchey, two of the three policemen who were gunned down by Hizbul terrorists on Friday, is a tale by itself in Shopian.A tale of two neighbours in Shopian’s Batagund Kapri village who were separated by faith , but remained united not only in their hardships and uncertainties they went through as SPOs but also in death.While ironing each other’s uniforms, they often discussed their little joys, like bringing toys for their kids. And the struggle they went through each day in their respective postings in troubletorn Kashmir.The families of the two friends were united in grief on Friday. It was Kuchey’s ageing parents who organised the wood, oil and hearse for Kulwant’s funeral. This was followed by Kuchey’s burial in the same village.“They shared their joys together. Let their passage to heaven be together. God is one for all of us, Hindus and Muslims, here,” Kuchey’s father Abdul Gani told TOI. Kulwant’s is the only Hindu family in the village of 4,300 Muslim families.On Friday, Kulwant’s father, wife and other siblings were away in Jammu while his mother and two kids were alone at home. Kulwant’s mother Pushpa said Kuchey’s family, which owns orchards, has been keeping their stock of apples in their courtyard for years. “Today, the dead bodies were kept and moved from each other’s home in show of solidarity,” she said.Kuchey’s brother Ramiz said that whenever Kulwant’s family would visit their ancestral home in Jammu, they would sleep inside their house to guard their valuables. It was Kulwant who inspired Kuchey to enroll as an SPO, Gani said.

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