Kidnapped army jawan found dead, body with bullet wound, J-K CM Mufti condemns killing

Militants abducted a 23-year-old Kashmiri trooper of the Territorial Army and his body was found in an orchard in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Saturday, officials said.

The slain soldier, Irfan Dar, was on leave for 10 days and visiting his family when he was taken hostage.

A resident of Sezan Keegam village in Shopian, Dar was posted at an army unit in north Kashmir’s Bandipora. Residents discovered the body and his car a few kilometers away from his home.

“The body bore a bullet wound and his family said he wasn’t home since yesterday. We are investigating,” director general of police SP Vaid said.

An army spokesperson confirmed that he was on leave till November 26. “While on leave he was possibly abducted and killed by terrorists. Police are investigating the case,” he said.

The murder is almost identical with the killing of another serving soldier on leave, Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz of 2 Rajputana Rifles, in the same district on May 10. He had gone home to attend a cousin’s wedding.

In September, militants killed 31-year-old BSF trooper Ramzan Parray outside his home in Bandipora.

After Lieutenant Fayaz’s killing, police issued an advisory asking security personnel not to visit their ancestral homes in the south Kashmir districts for at least six months.

The killings were widely condemned. Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted her condolences on the latest death. “Such heinous acts will not weaken our resolve to establish peace…,” she wrote on Twitter.

National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah also took to Twitter to condemn the incident. “The murder of young Irfan Dar is a very tragic & reprehensible act,” he said.

Militants are targeting local politicians too. Gowhar Ahmad Bhat, the district president of BJP’s youth wing in Shopian, was found with his throat slit on November 1. Locals said the body bore torture marks.