Brutal killing: Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz shot several times in the face by terrorists, say reports

Image: Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz

New Delhi: A young Kashmiri Army officer was abducted and brutally shot dead by three to four terrorists in Shopian district of south Kashmir late Tuesday night. The officer Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz was on leave to attend a family wedding and the incident has triggered widespread outrage in strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir and across the country. An unarmed officer was commissioned into Rajputana Rifles. He was at his maternal uncle Mohammad Maqbool's house at Batapora when the terrorists barged into the marriage ceremony and dragged him away at about 10 pm. Cops said the terrorists took the officer. On June 8, the officer would have turned 23. On Wednesday morning, the bullet-riddled body of Lt Fayaz was found. He belonged to Sudsuna village in Kulgam district. As per reports, he was shot several times in the face and abdomen. The Indian Army vowed to act against the perpetrators. This incident raises question that is it the right time now for BJP government to provide army in Kashmir with more teeth? The cowardly murder of Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz is comparable to two defining moments in Kashmir's politics- killing of Ravindra Mhatre (1984) and abduction of Rubaiya Saeed (1989).