Militants abduct, kill young Kashmiri army officer on leave

A young Kashmiri army officer on leave and unarmed was abducted and shot dead by militants in Shopian district where he had gone to attend a wedding, triggering anger among the locals who demanded action against the culprits.

Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz, 22, who hailed from Sursona village in Kashmir's Kulgam district, was commissioned exactly five months back in the army which vowed to punish the perpetrators of "the heinous crime and the dastardly act".

Fayaz, son of a farmer and an avid sportsman, had gone to attend the wedding of the daughter of his maternal uncle at Batapura, about 74 kms from here, 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.

The anguished and angry locals demanded that the culprits be identified and punished.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley condemned the killing and said Fayaz's sacrifice reiterates the nation's commitment to eliminate terrorism from the Valley and that he would continue to inspire youth from Kashmir.

"Abduction & murder of Lt. Ummer Fayaz by terrorists in Shopian is a dastardly act of cowardice. This young officer from J&K was a role model," Jaitley said in a tweet.

"Lt Ummer Fayaz of 2RAJRIF was an exceptional sportsman, his sacrifice reiterates nation's commitment to eliminate terrorism from the Valley," he added.

Fayaz, described by top army officials as a promising officer, was commissioned in the army's Rajputana Rifles regiment on December 10 last year and was availing of the leave for the first time to attend the marriage.

His family members told the police that they did not inform anybody about the abduction as they were hopeful of his release after a possible warning, which has been the case with policemen in the region, senior officials said.

Born on June 8, 1994, Fayaz had studied at Navodaya Vidyalaya, a branch of government schools for gifted students, at Ashmuquam in South Kashmir. He belonged to the 129th batch of cadets from the prestigious Pune-based National Defence Academy.

Fayaz was part of the hockey team of the National Defence Academy and was also an excellent volleyball player.

This was for the first time that he had taken leave after joining the Army, a senior official said.

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.

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."

Targeted killing used to take place in the Kashmir Valley in 1990s and it had virtually stopped in early 1990s. Today's incident showed that local intelligence network of militant groups had increased.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, while condemning the killing, said, "what was more painful to note is that the young officer had come home on vacation where he was attending the marriage of his cousin."

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi also condemned the killing and said those who tried to defeat what slain army officer Ummer Fayaz stood for, would be themselves defeated.

"The entire nation shares the grief of Fayaz's family, friends and colleagues. My heartfelt condolences," he said.

"His memory will never be forgotten. Those who tried to defeat what he stood for, will themselves be defeated," Gandhi said on Twitter.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also condemned the incident and said the situation was "very sad and alarming" which needed an urgent attention from the Centre.