Nisar Dharma
Srinagar, July 20: Disfigured and partly burnt body of a minor boy was recovered in frontier Kupwara district,
three days after he went missing, triggering shutdown and protests in several parts of the district.
Body of Umar Farooq, 10, a resident of Gulgam area of Kupwara, was found Thursday evening, a police
official said.
Umar had gone missing on Monday and his disappearance had triggered protests in the area.
His half-burnt body with a chopped arm was, as per reports, recovered from a nallah on Thursday evening.
His father, the reports said, identified him from his clothes.
Soon after his body was found, authorities decided to close educational institutions in the town and
suspended mobile Internet services on Friday as a precautionary measure after a complete shutdown was
observed in several areas of the district.
Scores of protesters hit the road at night after hearing about the boy's murder.
According to reports, protests were also held in Kralepora, Trehgam, Kupwara, Gulgam and Batergam areas
of the district against the killing.
Omar was the only brother of seven sisters.
His mother, Shareefa Begum, fervently asked the authorities to hunt the killers of the deceased and give
stringent punishment to them to ensure justice to the family.
“We are thankful to Deputy Commissioner Kupwara and the media for their role in recovery of the body of
my son who was brutally killed. We urge government to launch man hunt to arrest the killers and bring them
to justice. My husband is a labourer and my only son murdered brutally by the killers was a student. My
seven daughters have lost their lonely brother and if justice can’t be done to my family then where should
those people expect who are even in government service,” Shareefa said.
“We are more pained by the tragic death of the minor boy of Batergam Kupwara and I have gone personally
to the spot. I have directed SSP Kupwara to fast-track the investigation and arrest the killers in shortest span
of time. I assure that killers will be arrested and brought to justice but I simultaneously appeal the bereaved
family and the people of Kupwara to maintain calm till the killers are identified, arrested and brought to
justice,” DIG North Kashmir, Dr Sunil Gupta was quoted saying by KNS.
The police, as per an official, have constituted the SIT to investigate the disappearance and the brutal
murder of the minor boy.
"An SIT, to be headed by the additional superintendent of police (ASP) Kupwara and supervised by the
district senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kupwara, has been constituted to investigate it," the official
said.
He said police have sought cooperation of the general public for completion of the investigation.
Describing the murder as "really painful", the Jammu and Kashmir police chief has assured that the case
would be worked out very soon.
"SIT constituted for child's murder in Kupwara. We shall work out this case soon. I have confidence in my
team," J & K DGP S P Vaid said on Twitter.
Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has termed the act as "savage beyond imagination".
“The charred and disfigured body of a ten year old minor found in Kupwara is savage beyond imagination. If
this doesn’t shake the faith of our society what will?” she tweeted.
National Conference (NC) president and Member of Parliament Farooq Abdullah too expressed grief over the
minor's killing and demanded a high-level inquiry.
A party spokesman said Abdullah has demanded a high-level probe into the disappearance and the
mysterious murder of the minor so that facts of the case are brought before the public.
