Youth who was abducted and tortured by militants on 'suspicion of being an informer' died in the hospital today.
Superintendent of Police, Kulgam, Shridhar Patil said Omais Rasheed Bhat was abducted by militants from his village at Qaimoh in Kulgam on March 8 and was tortured in custody for six hours before being thrown at a neighbouring village.
''They suspected him of being an informer and tortured him,'' Patil told THE WEEK. “He (Bhat) had suffered some serious internal injuries during torture.”
Patil said the militants released him in a very bad condition. “We have some leads about who is behind his abduction and torture. We will get them soon,” Patil said.
Bhat was found by some people at Batpora in a very bad condition and informed the police.
The militants had also put up the posters saying Bhat was beaten for his “anti-movement activities”. Posters were also distributed in the mosques where the clerics read them aloud.
“The day he was abducted he was working in the fields till 2pm,'' said a relative of Bhat. ''Then he took Rs 10 from his mother saying he will return soon but he didn't.''
The relative said for the last 14 days Bhat was being treated in a hospital in Srinagar but he didn't speak to anybody. Meanwhile, hundreds of people joined the funeral of Bhat at his village today.