A bullet-riddled body of a labourer from Bihar’s Banka district was recovered in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Friday.
The body was found in the Wachi area of Zainapora in the south Kashmir district. The laborer, identified as Ashok Chauhan, was living in the Sangam area of Anantnag.
Locals discovered the body and reported it to the police. The police arrived at the scene, assessed the situation, and then took the deceased’s body to the hospital for post-mortem examination.
According to one of Chauhan’s colleagues, they left their rented room at 7 a.m., and he was with them for about an hour. Chauhan received a phone call while they were harvesting corn and informed them that he was going somewhere.
After he didn’t return for some time, they went to look for him. When they called his phone, it kept ringing with no answer, and they later found his body.
“He got a phone call while we were harvesting corn. He told us that he is going somewhere. When he did not return for sometime, we went to look for him. We called his number which kept ringing, but there was no answer. Then we found his body,” the colleague told PTI.
The body has been taken to a hospital for medico-legal formalities, and an investigation has been initiated.
In December 2023, the Indian Army ordered a thorough internal investigation into the deaths of three civilians in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir after allegations that they died in its custody.
The three civilians were allegedly picked up by the Army for questioning in the wake of the killing of four Army Jawans in an ambush by unidentified terrorists in Poonch on December 21. The aforesaid civilians, aged between 27 and 42, were found dead on December 22.
Following their death, their relatives and political leaders alleged that the three died due to custodial torture as they were among the eight people picked up by the Army for interrogation.
A few days after the incident, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met the Indian Army in Poonch. The Defence Minister had said that the Army must not just win the nation but also the hearts of the people.
Singh emphasised that the Army not only has to save the nation from enemies but also has the responsibility to win the hearts of people. He asked the Army to ensure that such things as civilian killings don’t happen again. He added that there should be an end to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. He also asked the army to move forward with the commitment to stamp out terrorism.