Bodies of a teenager and his two relatives were recovered from a forest in Billawar in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district on Saturday, three days after they went missing while returning from a wedding, with the BJP claiming the involvement of militants in the deaths.
The bodies of Varun Singh, 14, his uncle Yogesh Singh, 32, and maternal uncle Darshan Singh, 40, were spotted near a water body near Lohai Malhar by drones during a joint search operation by police and the army.
BJP legislator R.S. Pathia said the trio, who hailed from two villages in Billawar, appeared to have been killed by militants. Two people had died under similar conditions in the area on February 18. All the five victims are Hindus.
Villagers in Billawar blame the deaths on militants who have been hiding in the forests in Kathua for months and have carried out a series of attacks on security forces in the last one year.
Billawar’s BJP MLA Satish Sharma had raised the issue of three missing civilians in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Friday.
“I want to inform you about the three missing civilians. We seek answers from the government,” he had said.
An official said that the cause of their death would be ascertained only after a post-mortem.
BJP spokesperson and legislator Pathania said the killings would not go unpunished.
“Prima facie, it appears that terrorists were involved. I strongly condemn the killings. Jammu and Kashmir will be terrorism-free under the zero-tolerance terror policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah,” he said in a video message.
If Pathania’s claim of militant involvement is right, it marks a dangerous turn of events with the militants increasingly targeting innocent Hindu civilians. Despite the Centre’s promise of a “terrorism-free” Jammu and Kashmir for years, militancy has witnessed a spike in Jammu in recent years.
Two civilians — Shamsher, 37, and Roshan, 45 — were found dead at Kohag village in Billawar on February 18. They had gone out to collect wood.
Former panchayat leader Amrik Singh said police were yet to ascertain the cause of their death.
Last year, militants had killed four army soldiers and injured four more in Lohai Malhar in Kathua district.
Cop under fire
A special police officer (SPO) in Jammu and Kashmir reportedly forced two Gujjar youths to prostrate before a cow and touch its feet, triggering outrage in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Shocking to see how SPO Shashoo in Kishtwar heckled & threatened two locals Mohd Ashraf & Mudasir Ahmed & then went onto record & circulate a video capturing their humiliation,” former chief minister Mehbooba said, posting the video on X.
