Kashmiri officer killed by militants: Perpetrators of 'dastardly act' will not be spared, says Army

A young Kashmiri Army officer on leave and unarmed was abducted and shot dead by militants in Shopian district.

Pic for representational purpose only

Srinagar: The Army on Wednesday vowed to punish killers of young Kashmiri Army officer who was abducted and shot dead by militants in Shopian district where he had gone to attend a wedding.  

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of South Western Command Lt Gen Abhay Krishna, who is the Colonel of the Rajputana Rifles, said, "This marks a watershed moment in Kashmir Valley and people of Kashmir will decisively turn the tide against terrorism."

He said the people of Kashmir will have to rise collectively and hit back at the "cowards and perpetrators" of the heinous crime.

The Kashmiris can no longer tolerate such tragic losses of their "beloved sons", Lt Gen Krishna said.

Assuring the family that "perpetrators of the heinous crime and dastardly act will not be spared", he said, "the complete army fraternity stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the bereaved family at this tragic hour," as per PTI.

Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz, 22, who hailed from Sursona village in Kashmir's Kulgam district, was commissioned exactly five months back in the Army.

Fayaz, son of a farmer and an avid sportsman, had gone to attend the wedding of the daughter of his maternal uncle at Batapura from where he was abducted by the militants at around 10 pm last night, officials said.

On his first leave since joining the Army, he had reached Batpura yesterday morning from Akhnoor in Jammu region where he was posted with 2 Rajputana Rifles.

Locals said three militants entered the house where the wedding function was underway and asked Fayaz to accompany them. He was supposed to return to his unit on May 25.

The militants threatened the family members against informing the police or the Army, because of which they did not report it to anybody.

His bullet-riddled body was found at around 6.30 am today in Harmen village, about three kms from his house, the officials said.

The body, which had been kept at a bus stop, had bullet marks in the head and the chest. He had been fired at from a close range.

The autopsy report showed marks on his body, indicating that he had resisted the militants who abducted him, the officials said.

The body of Fayaz, who would have turned 23 on June 6, was laid to rest with full military honours in his native village, with hundreds of people attending the funeral.

(With PTI inputs)