5 soldiers abducted in Kashmir in 7 years

Srinagar: Over the past seven years, five soldiers have been abducted and later killed across different places in Kashmir.

The majority of these abductions occurred in Shopian and Kulgam belt of South Kashmir while one such incident was reported from central Kashmir’s Budgam district in 2022.

The first abduction took place in 2017, when Lieutenant Umer Fayaz was kidnapped in Shopian.

The young Army officer, who had been kidnapped from a family function in Kashmir was brutally tortured before he was killed.

A Lieutenant of the Rajputana Rifles, Fayaz bore multiple injuries, indicating heavy beating, possibly with the butt of a gun.

There were gunshot wounds on his jaw and abdomen.

The abduction sent shockwaves through the community and was widely condemned by the people, as it was probably the first incident in the Valley that a Kashmiri Army officer on leave at his home was killed since 1991.

In another incident in Shopian, soldier Aurangazeb of Poonch, was abducted at gunpoint.

The bullet-ridden body of Aurangzeb, who was abducted from Pulwama district, was found at Gusoo, Pulwama.

In 2020 Shakir Manzoor, an Army personnel, was abducted in Kulgam district.

A year-long search for him ended when his body was found in Kulgam.

In 2022, the wave spread to central Kashmir’s Budgam district, where Sameer Ahmad Malla, an Army soldier, was abducted.

Yet another incident took place in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Saturday, with the abduction of Army soldier Javid Ahmed Wani.

The situation has become a cause for major worry for the security agencies as the repeated incidents have taken place in Shopian and Kulgam belt of south Kashmir.

A top police official acknowledged that incidents of abduction had occurred mostly in this south Kashmir belt but said that the security grid was in place to put an end to such dreadful incidents.

“We are analysing the situation and we are hopeful that we will succeed in ending the ecosystem of Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and terrorists,” he said.

The Police official said that the incidents could be related to the number of active local terrorists in this belt.

“Shopian and Kulgam have the highest number of active local terrorists in Kashmir. That is why such incidents occur in this belt despite precautions taken by the local Army soldiers. The terrorists also maintain their local network and gather information about the movement of local Army soldiers,” the official said.