J&K: Tearful adieu for slain VDC members in Kishtwar

Jammu : Two Village Defence Committee (VDC) members kidnapped and later killed by terrorists were given tearful adieu on Saturday by locals in J&K’s Kishtwar district as scores of people joined their funerals.

Scores of people attended both the burial and the cremation and shouted anti-Pakistan and anti-terrorist slogans.

“Everybody attending the funeral was shocked and had moist eyes,” a local said.

Nazir was buried at a local graveyard while Kuldeep was cremated in the peripheral area of Ohli village.

Meanwhile, people have demanded a government job for the next of kin of the slain civilians and adequate security for the village.

Bodies of two VDC members, Nazir Ahmad (42) and Kuldeep Kumar (40) were found in the forests of Kuntwara in Kishtwar after they were kidnapped by the terrorists. The two had gone to the forest to graze cattle when the terrorists struck.

After a hectic search, the security forces recovered the bodies and these were brought to their ancestral Ohli village on Friday.

Officials said the post-mortem reports of the two slain VDC members revealed that both had been shot from behind in the head.

“Both bodies were found blindfolded with hands tied behind their back. The terrorists used a pistol to commit the gruesome murder of these unarmed civilians”, officials confirmed.

Kuldeep Kumar had lost his father, Amar Chand last week. Villagers said the objective of the terrorists is to create terror and also drive a wedge between different communities living in the area.

Kashmir Tigers, a lesser-known offshoot of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) terror outfit has owned responsibility for both these killings.

J&K DGP, Nalin Prabhat and GOC of the army’s Nagrota-headquartered White Knight Corps visited the area on Friday and took stock of the situation in the aftermath of the terror attack.

Local MLA, Shagun Parihar and former J&K BJP president, Ravinder Raina also went to express condolences to the bereaved families.

VDCs of civilians were created in the far-flung remote areas of the Jammu division to protect themselves and their families.

J&K Police has given automatic weapons to the VDC members after terrorists carried out ambush attacks against the army, security forces, police and civilians in Doda, Kishtwar, Rajouri, Poonch, Kathua, Reasi and Udhampur districts of Jammu division.