Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Apr 11: The body of the third missing tribal Gujjar youth was recovered on Friday from a stream in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, officials said.
The deceased, identified as Mukhtar Awan, had been missing since February 13, along with his cousins Riyaz and Showkat Bajad, all residents of Chandian Pajan village in Kulgam district. The trio had set out that evening to attend a relative’s wedding in Mahgund village, around 10 kilometres away, but never reached their destination.
A month after their disappearance, the bodies of two brothers Riyaz and Showkat were found in a stream between the two villages.
While officials claim the two had drowned or died by suicide, the families refused to believe this version.
On Friday, the body of third missing youth Mukhtar Awan was recovered from a stream, which has further added to the tension already prevailing the area.
“The body of the third missing youth was spotted by the locals Vaishow Nallah and they informed the police. The body was later shifted to District Hospital Kulgam for medico-legal formalities,” official said.
BJP leader and former law maker Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali reiterated his demand to the State Government to institute a magisterial inquiry into the inexplicable deaths of three individuals.
“This silence is unacceptable, and it is essential that the government takes action as per the law of the land. The affected families are entitled to adequate compensation and relief,” he said. |
