Kin performs last rites for slain VDGs in Kishtwar

Amid gloom, the remains of two village defense guards, Nazir Ahmed and Kuldeep Kumar, were buried and cremated respectively at their native village Ohli Kuntwara in Kishtwar district on Saturday.

The duo was kidnapped by terrorists on Thursday evening, blindfolded and shot at close range. The next day, their bodies were recovered from a deep gorge surrounded by hills in the upper reaches of Kuntwara.

“The remains of Nazir Ahmed, 45, and Kuldeep Kumar, 33, were buried and cremated respectively on Saturday at their native village Ohli Kuntwara,” Kishtwar district police chief SSP Abdul Qayoom said.

The last rites of the two VDGs were attended by former BJP local unit president and national executive member Ravinder Raina, DIG Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban range Shridhar Patil and Kishtwar SSP Abdul Qayoom.

The duo’s relatives, meanwhile, demanded adequate compensation and government jobs to earn their livelihood.

Slain VDG Nazir Ahmed’s daughter Saima said she identified her father in the photo released by the terrorists. ‘Avenge my father’s murder. We are three brothers and a sister. Our father was the only bread earner,” she said

“What kind of jihad is this? If they want to do jihad, they better start serving their parents. We are poor people,” she added.

At Kuldeep Kumar’s house, another VDG Des Raj said, “After their photo and a letter from terrorists went viral around 6.30 pm on Thursday, the VDGs immediately launched a search operation”.

“While searching for the kidnapped VDGs, we came across a place in the deep jungle where we found utensils where they might have had their food. About half a kilometer away we found the dead bodies of Nazir and Kuldeep in a nullah (stream) surrounded by hills. If there had been no locals, the security forces would not have found them,” he said, sharing that the two were found blindfolded.

“We, Hindus and Muslims, live in total harmony in Kuntwara. We warn Pakistan to desist from such cowardice and we will take strong revenge,” he said, adding, “Nazir and Kuldeep were poor people, who had taken their cattle for grazing. What damage had they done to Pakistan?”

Former Ohli Kuntwara sarpanch and Nazir’s relative Farooq Ahmed said, “The entire village of Ohli Kuntwara, including Muslims and Hindus, is in a state of shock and grief. On Thursday around 1pm we were informed that their mobile phones had been switched off and around 6.30pm we were told that they had been kidnapped and killed. Around 7.30 pm, a photo of their dead bodies with a letter (allegedly released by the Kashmir Tigers) went viral. We identified them from the photo.”

The former sarpanch called the killings an act of cowardice.

“This is a backward area where poor people earn their living with small jobs. They were VDGs with a meager fee of ₹4,000 per month. We appeal to Prime Minister Omar Abdullah and Lieutenant Governor to provide adequate compensation and government jobs to the bereaved families of every VDG as they were the sole bread earners,” Ahmed added while appealing to the government to increase the honorarium of the VDGs.

Kishtwar District Commissioner Rajesh Kumar Shavan said, “An immediate ex-gratia relief from ₹1 lakh each will be given to the next of kin of the two VDGs. Further, under SRO (Sadr-e-Riyasat Ordinance) 43, the administration will provide cash compensation of ₹4 lakh each.”

Security forces recovered the bodies of two village defense guards (VDGs) on Friday.

Meanwhile, security forces continued a massive cordon and search operation in Kishtwar, using drones, sniffer dogs and helicopters to track down the terrorists behind the killings.

Director General Nalin Prabhat, ADGP Anand Jain and the 16th Corps commander were still camped in Kishtwar to review the CI operations