Bodies of 2 slain village defence guards recovered in Kishtwar

After a hectic search for the bodies of the two Village Defence Guards (VDGs), who were abducted and killed by terrorists in Kishtwar on Thursday, a joint search party of the Army, J&K Police and CRPF was able to recover their mortal remains in a forest area.

The Army and Special Operations Group (SOG), after locating the bodies, carefully conducted an operation to recover them, the officials said.

A massive cordon-and-search operation is also underway to track down the terrorists responsible for the killings. The operation is concentrated in the Kuntwara, Ohli, and Munzla Dhar hilly areas, with reinforcements dispatched early this morning, the officials said.

According to officials, the two VDGs, identified as Kuldeep Kumar and Nazir Ahmed, residents of Ohli Kuntwara in Kishtwar, were executed by terrorists on Thursday after being abducted in the higher reaches of the district. Their bodies were spotted lying near a rivulet in the Pondgwari area in Keshwan belt.

The officials reported that Ahmad and Kumar had gone to graze cattle in the Munzla Dhar forest in Adhwari but did not return. Their families informed the police, who along with Army and CRPF started a search in the forests, which are far-off and inaccessible through motorable roads but could not find them. However, on Friday the search operation was restarted and their bodies were found with their hands tied behind their back.

“In an intensive joint search operation, police successfully recovered the bodies of two VDGs, Nazir Ahmed and Kuldeep Kumar, who were abducted and killed in a terror attack in Kishtwar district. The operation, led by the J&K Police in collaboration with the CRPF and Army was conducted to search the forested areas where the bodies were recovered,” a statement by J&K Police read.

The bodies were retrieved from Pondigari Keshwan forest area near a rivulet. The terrorists behind the killing seem to have escaped from the area. Kashmir Tigers, an offshoot of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad, claimed responsibility for the killings, sharing images of the victims with blindfolded eyes.

DGP Nalin Prabhat and Additional Director General of Police Anand Jain were camping in Kishtwar to oversee the search operation for the bodies and subsequent cordon and search operation against the ultras.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha condemned the terrorist attack on VDG members. In a statement, he said, “No words are strong enough to condemn the heinous terrorist attack on VDG members in Kishtwar. I convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of brave sons martyred in this cowardly attack.”