Kashmir man dies two weeks after ‘assault by militants’ in Kulgam

Bhat was working as a labourer when gunmen abducted him from his native village during evening hours on March 8 with the “intention to kill him”. He was dumped at Ves Batpora area in an almost unconscious state.

A 25-year-old man, who was allegedly assaulted by militants in south Kashmir earlier this month, has succumbed to his injuries at a hospital, police said on Thursday.

Army soldiers near the site of gunfight at village Frisal in Kulgam some 70 kilometres south of Srinagar,on February 12, 2017. Militant groups often abduct, torture and kill people they suspect of working as informers for security forces. (HT File Photo)

A police official said that Omais Rashid Bhat, 25, of Qaimoh in Kulgam district, died at the at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS).

Bhat was working as a labourer when gunmen abducted him from his native village during evening hours on March 8 with the “intention to kill him”. He was dumped at Ves Batpora area in an almost unconscious state.

“Militants abducted and then, beat him up. He has now succumbed to the torture,” said Kulgam superintendent of police Shridhar Patil.

After the assault, local reports had said that militants allegedly sent letters to mosques in Kulgam saying the man was involved in “dubious activities”. However no militant organisation formally owned up to the attack.

The SP said that the attack was to “terrorise people so that nobody should talk against illegal things militants are doing”.

“The claims of militants against the youth are not true,” he added.

Militant groups often abduct, torture and kill people they suspect of working as informers for security forces.