SIT probe on, attackers lodged in Udhampur prison: SDPO Banihal

Tanveer was ferrying cattle from Jammu to his native village in Ramban, with due permissions, when the four accused intercepted him and attacked him

The body of Tanveer Ahmed Chopan, 18, remains missing since the April 12 incident when he, in a bid to escape attacker, allegedly cow vigilantes, had jumped into a stream, even as the attachers have been sent to judicial custody and lodged in Udhampur jail.

The administration on Thursday pressed an excavator with an extended arm, the DSP informed. (File)

“The body has not been traced so far but searches have been intensified,” said deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Surinder Singh Billoria, who heads the SIT constituted in the case.

Tanveer was ferrying cattle from Jammu to his native village in Ramban, with due permissions, when the four accused intercepted him and attacked him. He jumped into the rivulet (Bisleri Nullah) near Makerkoot and remains missing since then. Four arrested were made and a case was registered.

They were identified as Surjeet Singh, Sandeep Singh, Digvijay Singh, and Kewal Singh—two residents of Seri Ramban and two of Ramban town.

The administration on Thursday pressed an excavator with an extended arm, the DSP informed. “The searchers tried to divert the water with the help of JCB machine but the flow of water is strong. Success so far has eluded us,” he said.

On SIT’s probe, the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) said, “It is on. The challan (chargesheet) has to be filed within 90 days and we still have time. The youth was chased by the four men in a vehicle, he was beaten up, pelted with stones. While escaping his attackers, he fell into the river. There is a CCTV footage as well that shows the youth trying to escape attackers.”

Tanveer’s father, Abdul Salaam Chopan, a special police officer, demanding death sentence for the accused said that he and his family have not given up hopes of finding his son’s body..