Army Lieutenant on his first leave killed by suspected militants

Arun Jaitley condemns the killing as a 'dastardly act' of cowardice

A wedding gathering turned into a funeral procession as his first leave for home became his last

Lieutenant Umer Fayaz, 23, from the troubled region of Kulgam district, was posted with 2 Rajputana Rifles and had applied for leave to attend a cousin's wedding.

He was picked up 60 kilometers from his house at Harmein in Kulgam, last night. The body of the young officer was later found three kilometers from his house.

Fayaz, who studied at Navodaya Vidyalaya, a branch of government schools for gifted students, at Ashmuquam in South Kashmir had joined the Army after being commissioned in last December. He belonged to the 129th batch of cadets from the prestigious Pune-based National Defence Academy.
 
This was for the first time that he had taken leave after joining the Army, a senior official said. He was supposed to have returned to his unit in the Akhnoor area of Jammu on May 25.

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

The bullets fired from a close range had hit his head and stomach or chest region.

Locals said two masked men entered the house at 8 last night. The men asked unarmed Lt Fayaz to accompany them warning the family not to inform the police.

The killing caused anger among the locals who demanded that the men responsible be identified and punished.

Major General B S Raju, the General Officer in Command of the Victor Force, responsible for counter-terrorism in South Kashmir, has directed all its units in and around the area to launch a manhunt for the killers.

The body of the officer was laid to rest with full military honours. His funeral was attended by several people from his village.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley described the abduction and killing as "a dastardly act" of cowardice.

"This young officer from J&K was a role model," Jaitley said in a tweet.