Srinagar : Makhan Lal Bindroo a 70 year old man was killed in a terror attack at Srinagar on Tuesday. He lived fearlessly and refused to leave Srinagar even at the peak of militancy in the 1990s. A day after he was shot dead by terrorists, his daughter Dr. Smriddi Bindroo refused to give in to tears. She challenged the gunmen to debate with them.
As his family grieved, his daughter said she would keep a smile on as her father lived and died like a warrior. “His words were ‘I will die with my shoes on’. I am so proud he died with his shoes on. Today my father no more, still I have a smiling face. Because I know my father was a warrior. He was a winner. He is going like a warrior man… I am not going to shed tears. That will be like a tribute to those gunmen,” she quoted, speaking over the sound of weeping family members and neighbors.
As Simriddi Bindroo faced a sea of media personnel at her house, there was not a tear in her eyes. The daughter of noted pharmacist Makhan Lal Bindroo, who was shot dead by unknown militants at his shop Bindroo Medicate, said her father may have died but his spirit would always live on.
“You can kill one person but you can’t kill the spirit of Makhan Lal. Whoever shot dead my father, come in front of me. My father gave me education while politicians gave you guns and stones. You want to fight with guns and stones? That is cowardice. All politicians are using you, come and fight with education,” a visibly charged Simriddi said.
Recollecting her journey, Simriddi said: “I am an associate professor, I started from zero; my father started from a bicycle, my brother is a famous diebetologist, my mother sits on the shop — that is what Makhan Lal Bindroo made us. A Kashmiri Pandit, he will never die. Despite being a Hindu, I have read the Quran. You can only kill the body, Bindroo will be alive in spirit.”
The young woman also challenged her father’s killers to a debate. “If you have guts, come and have a debate with us. You can only pelt stones and shoot people dead. Come and face me, I am my father’s daughter.”
It was a bloody day for J&K on Tuesday as apart from Bindroo, another non-local — a roadside vendor — was also shot dead. Police said the roadside vendor was selling Bhelpuri on the road. He died on the spot and his body was retrieved by police.
Talking about Bindroo, an official said he received four bullets and was declared brought dead at SMHS hospital. A famous chemist in the area, Bindroo had been operating his pharmacy in Srinagar for many decades and was also well known for his philanthropic works.
Last Saturday, two civilians were killed in a similar incident in Srinagar within one kilometre radius.
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