J&K tribal youth found dead; family alleges torture marks, head without a strand of hair

Jammu: Family members of a tribal youth found dead on Thursday alleged that he had torture marks on his body and that his head was without a strand of hair, as if skinned with hot water.

The victim, Riyaz Ahmad Bajad, a resident of the tribal area of Chandian Pajan in Kulgam district of southern Kashmir, in his late 20s, went missing on February 13 along with two others, Mukhtar and Showkat from Kulgam, when they were on their way to attend a function. The family registered a complaint when it found they could not be reached as their phones were switched off.

The families went from pillar to post to raise the issue but only after the matter was raised by legislators in the ongoing budget session of the assembly. Bajad's body was found in Veshow Nallah in Mah area of Kulgam.


"This is what we feared the most, as the forces picked up our men earlier as well but released them after a few days. Now we want the other two people alive," said a relative of Bajad, who did not wish to be identified. "It seems hot liquid was poured on his head. He didn't have a single strand of hair."

Police informed the family about the body and later handed it over to the family members after medico-legal formalities, said the relative. "The condition of the body was such that we couldn't even bathe it properly," he said. Bajad is survived by a six-month old baby girl.

Over the past few weeks, eight people including this trio have gone missing across J&K. According to PDP leader Bashir Ahmad Mir, two people are missing from Ganderbal in central Kashmir, two people from Kathua district of Jammu and one person (Yawar Rashid) from Poonch of Jammu.

Earlier this month, three people including a teenager were found dead in Billawar assembly constituency of Kathua in Jammu, following which Union minister Jitender Singh pointed at the involvement of militants. In February, two more persons were found dead in Kathua district.