Army school to be renamed after slain officer, family gets ₹75L
SRINAGAR: Victor Force commander Major General BS Raju and civil administration officials visited the family of martyred Kashmiri army officer Ummer Fayaz in Kulgam to express their condolences on Saturday.
An Army spokesperson said they dropped by Fayaz’s residence on Chahrrum — the fourth day of mourning — and promised “full support” to his family. Fayaz’s relatives were also presented a cheque of ₹75 lakh on the behalf of the army.
Fayaz, a lieutenant with the Rajasthan Rifles division, was abducted from the house of a relative during a wedding function on Wednesday night. His body was found at Shopian in south Kashmir the next morning.
Though Kashmiri militant groups have denied killing the Army officer, intelligence agencies suspect that the crime was carried out jointly by Lashkar-eTaiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
“The Army has assured the family of all assistance, and promised to bring the perpetrators of this dastardly act to justice,” the spokesperson said.
The authorities have also decided to rename the Army Goodwill School in Behibagh as the Shaheed Lt Ummer Fayaz Goodwill School in honour of the martyr. “Besides this, the deputy commissioner of police — who accompanied the Victor Force commander — presented lieutenant Fayaz’s family with an ex-gratia cheque on the behalf of the J&K government, and announced that his family members would be granted government jobs. Cheques from the Central AWWA Ex-Gratia Grant and National Defence Fund were also given to the family by an officer of 2 Rajputana Rifles, which was Lt Fayaz’s unit,” the Army spokesperson said.