Bullet-riddled body of a panch, who was missing since last week, was on Friday found buried in an orchard in south Kashmir district of Shopian.
Official sources said that panic gripped Dangam area in Shopian when some locals saw the body of a man buried in an orchard on Friday. “The locals immediately informed the police,” they said, adding a police team was rushed to the area and the body was taken away.
They said the deceased was later identified as Nissar Ahmad Bhat, a panchayat member from Khonmoh in Srinagar.
The family members of Bhat had filed a report, asserting that the panch was missing since he left for Shopian on August 19. A few days later, an audio clip was released by militants, claiming that the panch was killed and his body was not handed over to his family due to COVID-19 pandemic. They said that the body was buried.
Earlier this month, a Territorial Army (TA) soldier went missing on August 2 and his burnt vehicle was found in south Kashmir district of Kulgam the same evening. Later, militants released an audio clip, claiming that the soldier has been killed and his body would not be handed over due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The change in tactics by militants apparently comes in response to security forces not handing over the bodies of militants killed in encounters in view of COVID-19 pandemic