JAMMU: Residents of Ohli village in Kishtwar district of Jammu region gathered Saturday to bid a tearful farewell to two local village defence guards (VDGs) and friends whose bodies were discovered in ndarby Kuntwara forest after they were abducted and killed by Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists Thursday morning.
Nazir Ahmed, 42, and Kuldeep Kumar, 40, who were unarmed and grazing cattle in the area, were found bound, blindfolded, and shot from behind, officials said. This was Kumar’s first trip back to the forest since his father’s passing, as his friend Ahmed had been tending to his livestock while he was in mourning.
The bodies were retrieved following a 12-hour search that concluded Friday evening. Late that night, the bodies were brought back to Ohli. Ahmed was buried in the local graveyard, while Kumar was cremated on the village outskirts.
Locals, cutting across lines of caste and religion, united in paying respects and voiced their anger over the murders. “We want to tell Pakistan and their terrorists that we have lived together for years and will continue to do so. We will thwart their nefarious designs,” a villager said amid anti-terrorism and anti-Pakistan slogans.
Ahmed, who leaves behind a wife, three sons, a daughter, and a physically disabled brother, was described as a pillar of his family. Kumar, who had lost his father only a week ago, is survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter.
“Shame on terrorists who cannot face our army and are shedding the blood of innocents,” a female relative of Ahmed said. “If they want to be good and want jihad, they should serve their parents dutifully — that is jihad.”
A fellow VDG member emphasised the cowardice displayed in targeting unarmed civilians. “If the terrorists were brave enough, they should have given guns to the VDGs and had a fair fight, instead of blindfolding them with their hands tied behind and shooting them cowardly,” he said.
The villagers demanded the authorities provide adequate ex gratia and govt jobs to the families of the slain VDGs, who had been the primary breadwinners for their households.
They also demanded stronger counter-terrorism measures and called for additional VDG recruits to guard their mountainous forests of Kishtwar.
A plea was also made for one VDG recruit from each of the 130 households in Ohli, which they said would offer better protection for their community.