Sorrow engulfed Anantnag’s Nowgam village when the news of local army jawan Hilal Ahmad Bhat reached there on Wednesday.
Bhat was kidnapped by militants on Tuesday while he was on his way back to join duty after leave, according to a neighbor.
“The entire village is in grief… Hilal was a nice person,” said Mohammad Shafi. Bhat is survived by his wife, a five-year-old son named Azaan, and an infant daughter. Shafi mentioned that the soldier had come home on leave to spend time with his family.
“Yesterday, he returned to report to work, but later we heard that he had been abducted on the way,” he added.
He appealed to the government to take special care of Bhat’s family, who have lost their breadwinner.
According to the army, security forces recovered Bhat’s bullet-ridden body on Wednesday from the Sanglan forest in the Utrasoo area of Anantnag.
Junaid Bhat, a childhood friend of Hilal, expressed his disbelief and sorrow. “I do not know why he was kidnapped and killed. We grew up together… he was such a nice person,” he said.
A massive search operation was launched to rescue the jawan after he was reported missing on Tuesday. PTI