Kupwara: Disfigured body of a minor boy was recovered in frontier Kupwara district of north Kashmir, three days after he went missing, prompting the police to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the matter.
Body of Umar Farooq, 10, a resident of Gulgam area of Kupwara district, was found last evening, a police official said.
Umar had gone missing on Monday and his disappearance had triggered protests in the area.
The official said police had made efforts to trace him right after he went missing.
He said the police have constituted the SIT to investigate the disappearance and the brutal murder of the minor boy.
“An SIT, to be headed by the additional superintendent of police (ASP) Kupwara and supervised by the district senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kupwara, has been constituted to investigate it,” the official said.
He said police have sought cooperation of the general public for completion of the investigation.
Describing the murder as “really painful”, the Director General of Police (DGP) has assured that the case would be worked out very soon.
“SIT constituted for child’s murder in Kupwara. We shall work out this case soon. I have confidence in my team,” J & K DGP S P Vaid said on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the former chief minister, Mehbooba, said the act should shake the faith of the society.
“The charred and disfigured body of a ten year old minor found in Kupwara is savage beyond imagination. If this doesnt shake the faith of our society what will?” she posted on Twitter.
National Conference (NC) president and Member of Parliament Farooq Abdullah expressed grief over the minor’s killing and demanded a high-level inquiry.
A party spokesman said Abdullah has demanded a high-level probe into the disappearance and the mysterious murder of the minor so that facts of the case are brought before the public.
Many areas in Kupwara remained shut today as a mark of protest while some areas witnessed protests by the people, even as authorities closed down a few colleges in the district for the day as a precautionary measure.
Meanwhile, a police constable was thrashed by youth protesting the death of a minor whose half-burnt body was recovered yesterday from a stream in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
Reports said that Ghulam Mohiudin, a constable of district special branch (DSB), was injured after he was thrashed by some youth during overnight protests in Batergam village of the district.
An official said that Mohiudin was performing his duty when he was thrashed and kept confined to a house by angry protesters.
He said the constable was saved by Assistant Superintendent of Police Kupwara and other officials.
The constable, he said, was taken to District Hospital Kupwara for treatment wherefrom he was referred to Handwara hospital for advanced treatment.
SSP Kupwara Shriram Ambarkar Dinkar said an FIR has been lodged into the case.
“The official was injured during a scuffle. FIR has been lodged. Arrests will be made after proper identification of persons who thrashed the constable,” he told a news agency.
