November 17, 2018
A 19-year-old man was killed hours after he was abducted along with two other civilians by suspected militants in south Kashmir’s Shopian on Saturday, police said. This comes just 48 hours after a bullet-riddled body of a teen was found in neighbouring Pulwama.
Huzaif Ashraf alias Raja Kandur, Shahid Ganaie and Farooq Thokar were abducted by militants from a bakery in Saidpora Payeen village of Shopian early today, police said. Huzaif’s body was found in Shopian’s Hermain village, about 10 kms from the place of kidnapping, police said.
“He was kidnapped by terrorists this morning from Saidpora…and was later killed by them,” Superintendent of police in Shopian, Sandeep Choudhary said. The two other – Shahid Ganaie, Farooq Thokar – were freed by the militants, he said.
The police did not specify how Huzaif, who was a baker by profession, was killed but locals said that his throat was slit by the killers.
While Shahid Ganaie, Farooq Thokar are from Saidpora Payeen, Ashraf was from neighbouring Manzgam in Kulgam district. The police is still investigating why the three were abducted and one of them was killed. The three, according to the police, had no political links, which normally trigger such abductions by militants in the Valley.
Local reports said that two more civilians have been abducted from Meemender village of Shopian district on Saturday evening. However police officials said that they were checking the authenticity of the reports.
Since Thursday, this is the second incident of abduction and killing in the district.
The bullet-riddled body of Nadeem Manzoor Dar, 18, was found in Pulwama district on Thursday night. Dar, who was the resident of Safanagri in Shopian district, was abducted by militants late on Thursday evening and taken to Niklora Pulwama, where his body was recovered by police. A video of the alleged firing on the youth also made it to social media.
There has been condemnations and anger over the killings.
“Another dastardly killing of a young man, this time the terrorists slit his throat. This barbarism has no place in our society & no struggle, no matter how lofty the claims to justify it, can condone this inhuman behaviour. #Kashmir,” said Omar Abdullah, former chief minister, on Twitter.
Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the killings and abductions terming them as “totally senseless”. The party’s state spokesman Altaf Thakur said that that police must step up to stop the abduction and killing of young men in the Valley.
Source : Hindustan Times
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