The Indian Army has detained three soldiers of Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry (JAKLI) to probe their involvement in a conspiracy to reveal whereabouts of their colleague Lance Naik Aurangzeb who was killed by terrorists in south Kashmir on June 14.
Affiliated with 44 Rashtriya Rifles unit, Aurangzeb, who was posthumously awarded Shaurya Chakra on Independence Day last year, was travelling to his native place in a private vehicle on eve of Eid when terrorists waylaid the vehicle and kidnapped him.
Sources said the trio is being quizzed to know if they somehow leaked information about Aurangzeb’s movement out of his battalion headquarters in a private vehicle. Aurangzeb was known for his counterinsurgency offensive in the area and his proximity with an Army officer who has commanded several successful operations against militants including killing of Sameer Tiger, a top-ranking commander of Hizbul Mujahideen.
Aurangzeb’s vehicle was waylaid by terrorists at Qalampora village and in a short duration his body was found by a team of police and Army officials at Gussu village. A video of his kidnapping was also released by his abductors.
Media reports earlier claimed that Aurangzeb’s whereabouts were leaked by a local woman who had allegedly developed a relationship with him.
The three soldiers Abid Hussain Wani, Tajamul Ahmed and Adil Wani were his colleagues. They are all local residents.
The Army has not reacted to the reports about the detention and questioning of the soldiers. The detention came to fore after a youngster Abid Tauseef Wani was allegedly tortured by an Army officer in Shadimarg camp. Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti went to see Wani at Sri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital (SMHS) and accused an Army officer for torturing the youngster.
A relative of Wani said they have lost touch with Abid since June and the Army is not telling them anything about his whereabouts. “We are worried now. They (Army) also called Tawseef and tortured him inside the camp. They were asking about his involvement in the killing of Aurangzeb,” he said.
Aurangzeb was posthumously awarded Shaury Chakra while as Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman trekked a long distance to travel to his native village in mountainous Poonch district to pay homage.