Kidnapped Army Officer Ummer Fayaz From Kashmir Tortured Before He Was Killed: Sources

New Delhi: Ummer Fayaz, the young army officer, who had been kidnapped from a family function by terrorists in Kashmir on Monday night, was brutally tortured before he was murdered. Sources said the body of the 22-year-old officer, a Lieutenant of the Rajputana Rifles, bore multiple injuries, indicating heavy beating, possibly with the butt of a gun. There were gunshot wounds on his jaw and abdomen.

His body was found early Wednesday morning in Shopian, around 30 km from his village, where he had gone to attend a cousin's wedding. He was dragged out of the function around 10 pm by three armed men. The panic-stricken family had not reported it, hoping he would be released alive.

Ummer Fayaz had been commissioned into the Army's Rajputana Rifles regiment just five months ago and had taken leave to visit big family in Kashmir. A graduate from the National Defence Academy, he travelled to his village in Kulgam in South Kashmir unarmed, despite knowing the risks, his fellow officers said.

Major Avdesh Choudhary, who trained him at the regimental centre in Delhi, said he thought he had to "keep an eye on him". "I found he overshadowed the others because of his enthusiasm. He wanted to prove something. There was a spark in his eyes. That's what I liked about him," he said.

This is the first time that a Kashmiri army officer on leave in his home state has been murdered since 1991. There have, however, been reports  of attacks on policemen and their families, especially in restive south Kashmir.  In several instances, security personnel were beaten and robbed of their weapons. Recently, the state had even advised its police officers not to visit their ancestral homes.

Last week, security forces carried out a huge anti-terror operation across two dozen villages in Shopian. As they were about to wind up, a sudden strike by terrorists killed one civilian and injured two soldiers.