The Jammu and Kashmir Police has said that Hizbul Mujahideen is the terror group responsible for the abduction and murder of Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz, the 22-year-old Indian Army soldier whose bullet-riddled body was found in the Shopian district of the state on Wednesday.
Fayaz's body was found in the Herman area of south Kashmir's Shopian district on Wednesday. He had gone home to attend a wedding ceremony from where he was kidnapped by terrorists and later murdered. Witnesses claim that he was taken away while he was sitting with the bride even as other terrorists waited outside the house. The Indian Army officer was killed by terrorists in an attempt to dissuade local residents from joining the security forces.
Inspector General (IG) of Police Javeed Gillani was quoted by the Hindustan Times as saying that investigators retrieved a couple of empty INSAS rifle cartidge cases that were used to commit the crime. An investigation is underway to ascertain whether those were the same cartridge cases that were snatched from police officers a few days ago, Gillani added.
The IG did not disclose the names of those responsible for the abduction and murder of Lt. Fayaz. "A local Hizbul Mujahideen module was involved. Though we have identified the militants, their names cannot be revealed immediately," he said.
However, CNN-News18 reported that the group that belongs to the Hizbul Mujahideen is headed by Abass Bhat. Another man named Ishfaq Ahmed Thoker has been identified as one of the attackers involved in the case.
"Although police are yet receive the post-mortem report, preliminary examinations revealed that there were no torture marks on his body," Gillani was quoted by HT as saying.
