J&K: Decapitated body of abducted man found in Hajin

READ | One more abduction in Hajin, police blame Lashkar group

This is the second civilian killing in Hajin this week. Earlier, body of Naseer Ahmed Parray (37), who was abducted on Monday evening, was recovered from the outskirts of the town the next day. Bandipore SP Zulfakar Azad told The Indian Express both Manzoor and Parray were “innocent civilians.” “Four to five foreign militants, along with a local militant Saleem, are behind both these killings,” the SP said.

Azad claimed the Lashkar-e-Toiba leadership was wiped out from the area last year, but a new group had become active now. “This new group, comprising four to five foreign militants, are again active in the area and they want to terrorise the local population by killing innocent people,” Azad said.

So far, police have identified the militants as — Abu Muslim, Hubaib, Khalid, Abu Hamza and Haider. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said: “The brutal killing of young Manzoor is highly condemnable…but it should also serve as a reminder of where the society is headed to. The scourge of terror has hit a new low as the brutality of this act has left us all in shock.”

The brutal killing of young Manzoor Ahmad is highly condemnable but should also serve as a reminder of where society is headed. The scourge of terror has hit a new low as the brutality of this act has left us all in shock.

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) April 6, 2018

Former Chief Minister and National Conference working president Omar Abdullah also condemned the killing and asked why there was no anger against the killing. “Any shut down call or call for peaceful protests for Manzoor Ahmed whose decapitated body was found in North Kashmir after he’d been abducted & killed by militants? No? I’m not surprised,” he tweeted.

Last year, the security forces killed several top Lashkar commanders, including the nephew of Lashkar-e-Toiba chief and alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, in Hajin and claimed to have wiped off the entire leadership of Lashkar. However, several foreign militants, especially those affiliated to the Lashkar, have surfaced in the area recently. Hajin and its neighbourhood areas have seen multiple encounters over the past one year.