Rifleman Aurangzeb laid to rest with full state honours, hundreds attend last rites in Poonch

SRINAGAR: Army personnel on Saturday performed the wreath laying ceremony of Rifleman Aurangzeb who was abducted and killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. While the jawan was laid to rest with full state honours, hundreds of people attend his last rites in Poonch.

"My son has abided by his pledge, he has kept his promise. He sacrificed himself for the nation and came back to me. I request the central & state govts to eliminate militancy," Aurangzeb's father Mohd Hanif told news agency ANI.

The body of Aurangzeb was brought to his native place at Poonch in Rajouri district for his last rites. The martyred jawan's body was flown from 92 Base Hospital located at the 15 Corps at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar.

Aurangzeb belonged to 4 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry and was posted at the 44 Rashtriya Rifles camp at Shadimarg in Shopian. He was a part of Major Rohit Shukla's team that eliminated top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Sameer Tiger.

On June 14,  Aurangzeb boarded a private vehicle to reach Shopian, from where he was supposed to go to his home in Rajouri district for Eid celebrations. The terrorists intercepted the vehicle as it approached Kalampora and abducted the jawan.

Aurangzeb's bullet-ridden body was found by a team of police and Army at Gussu village, about 10 km away from Kalampora, in Pulwama district. He was shot in his head and neck, police said.

Sources in intelligence bureau told Zee Media that four terrorists – two from Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and two Hizbul Mujahideen – were behind the abduction and cold-blooded murder of Aurangzeb.

The terrorists used an Alto car to abduct the jawan. One of the terrorists - Jahoor Ahmed Tokar - was in the Territorial Army before he had joined the militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen last year.