Body of abducted constable recovered in Kashmir

The body of a policeman, who was abducted by militants in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Thursday, was found on Friday morning in neighbouring Kulgam district.

Javaid Ahmad Dar (27) was abducted around 9.30 pm on Thursday from his home in Shopian district’s Vehil village by two to three militants, police said. A manhunt was launched soon after the incident, with teams of the police, special operations group and army setting up security checkpoints.

However, the bullet-riddled body of the constable was recovered from Pariwan village of Kulgam district at 7 am on Friday. Police said Dar was shot in the head. It is the third such incident over the past more than a month in south Kashmir.

On June 14, militants abducted an army man, Aurangzeb, from Kalampora village of Pulwama. The soldier, on leave for Eid, was travelling in a car to Shopian when militants blocked the way and took him away. His body was later recovered from Gusoo village of the district.

In a similar incident, on the same day, militants abducted a policeman from his residence in Navpora, Lassipora. He was, however, released the next day.

Meanwhile, a cleric was shot at and injured by unidentified gunmen in Pulwama on Friday morning. A police officer said that 45-year-old Maulvi Mohammad Ashraf Thokar, a resident of Bijbehara, was fired upon by unidentified gunmen in Parigam village soon after the early morning prayers.

Thokar received several bullet injuries and was shifted to SMHS hospital in Srinagar, he said.

No militant outfit claimed responsibility for the two incidents.