Ummer killing: Hunt on for 3 Hizb men, police release photos
Police released photographs of three Kashmiri militants believed to be involved in the killing of army officer Ummer Fayaz but an umbrella organisation, that include the Hizbul Mujahideen, on Friday denied any role in the incident.
Posters with the photographs of the three Hizbul militants men were pasted across south Kashmir, the hotbed of insurgency where the young, unarmed lieutenant’s body was found early on Wednesday, a few hours after he was abducted from the wedding ceremony of a cousin in Shopian. He was shot twice.
Police announced a reward for information leading to the arrest of Ishfaq Ahmad Thokar, Gayasul-Islam and Abbas Ahmad Bhat. The three are suspected to be part of the group that snatched the Rajputana Rifles officer, who hailed from Kulgam in south Kashmir and was home on leave, sources said. Eyewitnesses said a group of armed men entered the house and took away Fayaz, who was sitting with the bride, as more militants waited outside.
Pakistan-based Lashkar-eTaiba is also suspected to have a hand in the killing, described by the army as a watershed moment that would turn the tide against terrorism in the valley.
However, the United Jihad Council — a joint front of 22 outfits — said blamed “Indian agencies” for the killing.
“Our militants are not involved in murder of Lt Ummer Fayaz. Such a killing is condemnable,” the outfit’s chief Syed Salah-ud-din was quoted as saying in a statement.