Four militants, sympathiser involved in Kashmiri army jawan murder: Police

Four militants and a sympathiser were involved in the killing of an army jawan in Kashmir last month, police said on Wednesday.

The sympathiser, identified only as Muzamil, has been arrested, a police spokesperson said.

The 23-year-old Kashmiri trooper, Irfan Dar, of the 175 Territorial Army was abducted when he was on leave and visiting his family in Shopian in south Kashmir.

His bullet-riddled body was found in an orchard on November 25.

Investigations have revealed that four militants -- Saddam Padder, Bilal Mohand, Touseef and an unidentified new recruit -- and the arrested man “hatched a criminal conspiracy to kill sepoy Irfan Dar”, the official said.

“On November 24, the accused Muzamil went to the native village of Irfan and took him to Wuthmula where the above mentioned militants were already present in a nearby orchard. They came out of the orchard and fired at Irfan, resulting in his instant death,” the spokesperson added.

The chain of conspiracy was based on available evidence which the official did not disclose.

A resident of Sezan Keegam village in Shopian, Dar was posted at an army unit in north Kashmir’s Bandipora.

Local residents had discovered the body and his car a few kilometres away from his home.

Over the past few months, several Kashmiri security personnel – including policemen -- have been killed or attacked and their homes ransacked by suspected militants, seen as warnings to stop participating in counter-insurgency operations.

Earlier this year, a Kashmiri army officer on leave was abducted from a wedding and killed in south Kashmir and a police officer lynched in Srinagar.