Jawan killing: Army probes its own men

SRINAGAR: The army is investigating the role of its own men in the killing of soldier Aurangzeb in Kashmir last year, officers familiar with the probe said.

Rifleman Aurangzeb was abducted and killed by militants while he was heading home from his camp in south Kashmir’s Shadimarg to celebrate Eid in June 2018. He was conferred Shaurya Chakra, a gallantry award, posthumously last Independence Day.

Army investigators suspect some of their own men could have tipped off militants about Aurangzeb’s movement. Family members of some local soldiers are also being questioned in this connection, the officers said.

On Tuesday, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti accused the army of torturing a Pulwama resident, Tauseef Wani, brother of army soldier Abid Wani, who has not contacted his family since July, and is being investigated for his role in the killing of Aurangzeb.

Army investigators said that Abid Wani, a colleague Aurangzeb, may have alerted the militants about Aurangzeb’s departure from the camp.

Abid’s brother, Tauseef, was the conduit and his phone was being used to pass on information, according to two army officers familiar with the investigation. “The call record data points to the involvement of Abid and Tauseef. Shaukat Dar, one of the terrorists involved, was told that Aurangzeb has left the camp and is on his way,’’ an officer said.

The officers said that Tauseef – who is now admitted in a Srinagar hospital, was called to the camp on Tuesday. He was the one who arranged the private car in which Aurangzeb travelled on June 14, they said. He left his camp in the morning and was on his way home to Poonch for Eid. The car was stopped after a few kilometres and Aurangzeb was pulled out by the terrorists. However, Tauseef denied the claims. “These are all false allegations... Neither me nor my brother has done anything,” he claimed.

The army is also probing the role of a local woman in Aurangzeb’s killing.