The deaths / killings of five civilians of Kohag and Lohai Malhar areas of Jammu Kashmir's border district of Kathua on February 16 and March 5-7, 2025, including that of a 12-year-old boy, seem shrouded in mystery. But at ground zero, the circumstance of the cases points to the cunning handiwork of Pakistani and local terrorists supported by a network of over ground workers (OGWs).
March killings of civilians
The bodies of Darshan Singh (40), Yogesh Kumar (32) and Baroon Thakur (12) were found in the Ichhu waterfall's pool on March 8. The trio had lost their way in the darkness while enroute through dense jungles and precipitous ridgelines to Suraag village on March 5. The three close relatives were part of the 'baraat' procession of Yogesh's brother, who is a soldier of the Grenadiers Regiment. Quoting unnamed Police and Government officers, sections of mainstream and social media were quick to label the deaths an "accidental fall" as no gunshot wounds, signs of torture or strangulation were reportedly discerned in the preliminary findings of the autopsies. It was also suggested the two adults had consumed liquor as a one-fourth empty whisky bottle was found in their backpack.
It is here that voices from the ground --- of those who had participated in the perilous search for the three civilians in intractable terrain frequented by hardened, ruthless and well-trained Pakistani terrorists --- contradicted the distant and aloof media allegations. They cited facts skipped in the media reports.
"Had they fallen into the waterfall by accident, then how is it that the jeans of my son, Baroon, were found worn inside out with the zip and button open? How is it that the shirt of Darshan, my brother, was found wrapped around the waist of Yogesh, my brother-in-law? Darshan was found bare-chested in the severe cold of the mountains. The right arm of Baroon was tied with his shirt to his left shoulder. I suspect it was done to make a hook for dragging Baroon. How is it that items they were carrying, such as a backpack with Baroon's cardigan, cap and shawl, mobile phone, liquor bottle etc. were found at a distance from, and much above, the waterfall pool? If they fell accidentally, then the bodies should have suffered multiple fractures from a height of 300 feet. The media reports, quoting autopsy findings, cite two head injuries (to Baroon and Yogesh) and a shoulder wound to Darshan. How did Darshan die of just a shoulder wound? The pool where the bodies were found does not have enough water for accidental drowning. Can three locals fall together?" Chmail Singh of Dehutta village asked this columnist.
"The viscera report (which is still awaited) will reveal how much alcohol, if any, was consumed on the way by Darshan and Yogesh. It is normal to carry alcohol for a marriage function. The evidence and circumstances point to their abduction by terrorists hiding in the jungles, and then killed by forcible drowning, subtle strangulation or poison," added Singh.
February murders
On February 16, 2025, the bodies of Roshan and Shamsher were found near a stream at village Batheri, which is located at a distance from their village, Kohag. The duo had entered the jungle to collect yams the previous evening. Both bodies bore slit marks on their throats. Kathua SSP Shobhit Saxena vaguely attributed the Kohag killings to "internal dispute", while at the same time keenly denying a terror angle.
While terrorists did not own up the Kohag killings, they did so obliquely for the three 'baraatis'. The Kashmir Tigers (KT), a shadowy front for the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, released a statement on Telegram on March 8: "Strong winds are blowing and the results are evident. Therefore, avoid venturing into the forests. Falcons are circling in the sky, hunting for prey." A day before that, on March 7, when a frenetic search was still underway for the three 'baraatis', the terrorist front had released the first statement: "We're monitoring every move. The falcons have captured their prey."
Buttressing a narrative
So much so for the above cases where terrorists are unable to label the civilians killed as informers or Village Defence Guards (VDG). In such cases, the killings are undertaken deliberately without obvious terrorist signs such as rifle bullets to safeguard the "image" of "freedom fighters" fighting only the "occupational Army", which is cultivated assiduously in human rights circles and sections of the global community. That leaves the local Police with the leeway to "probe all possible angles in the case". Resultantly, a cloak of ambiguity shrouds the deaths and safeguards the slogan of "declining terror incidents".
On November 7, 2024, the bodies of Kuldip Kumar and Nazir Ahmed were found in remote Kishtwar. They were VDGs and their eyes had been symbolically mutilated by terrorists. The KT issued a statement the same day: "Both were executed...take a lesson...don't be a part of VDG otherwise you will have to suffer the same fate...Note: our record is a witness, we have not killed even a common Hindu till date, we are fighting against the occupying Indian Army."
Wrong place, wrong time
However, civilians, who are neither informers nor VDGs, but wandering in the dense jungles for livelihoods or travel pose a threat to terrorists when they stumble upon them or their hideouts. The modus operandi employed by terrorists in such cases was revealed from the cellphones recovered from two of them shot in the Basantgarh (Udhampur district) encounter on September 12, 2024, by the 1 Para (SF). The phones had pictures of two Pakistani terrorists throttling grazier Maan Singh Gaadi of Asar, Batote (Doda district) with a wire / string while the third one simultaneously stifled the old man's nose with a cloth.
Gaadi had gone missing on August 12, 2024. Parts of his body and clothes were recovered only on September 20, 2024. Terrorists had hacked his body into pieces with Gaadi's own axe and dispersed the remains to shroud their killing of a non-combatant.
After Gaadi went missing, the Army stated that terrorists had killed him. In response, on August 15, 2024, the KT issued a statement: "We declare complete indifference to this killing. The Mujahideen do not harm any civilian." The KT statement was, however, contradicted by pictures of Gaadi's killing recovered later from the Basantgarh encounter.
Facts that stand out in the March incident
DIG, Police Range, Jammu-Samba-Kathua, Shiv K Sharma, told this columnist that "all angles are being probed into the three 'baraatis' case. The terrorist angle cannot be ruled out. However, Baroon was wearing his trousers inside out because it is a custom in these far-flung hilly areas to do so for functions and avoid getting the clothes dirty in the rough journey. Upon reaching the function venue, the clothes are worn correctly. We are waiting for the family to regain their composure and compete the rituals, and we will then get photographs of the 'baraat' before it left for the destination. That will verify the aspect of jeans worn inside out by the child."
It's been more than two weeks since the three 'baraatis' were found dead and the families have since immersed the ashes at Haridwar. But the Kathua Police is yet to contact the families for the 'baraat' photos and verify the alleged customs. "We do not follow such customs of wearing clothes inside out as alleged by the DIG. Baroon was studying in a school in Jammu. We not only have photographs but videography of the 'baraat' before it left, where you can observe that all three were wearing clothes correctly. The Police is welcome to examine them and remove all doubts on such non-existent customs. Fact is that these circumstances are not fitting into the promoted theory of accidental fall," said Singh.
Kathua falls in the far-out limits of the Area of Responsibility (AOR) of (not the Northern Command's 16 Corps) but Western Command's 9 Corps HQs at Yol (Himachal Pradesh). On July 8, 2024, a convoy of 22 Garhwal Rifles was ambushed on the Badnotta-Machhedi stretch in Kathua by KT terrorists in which five soldiers were killed in action. On January 25, 2025, terrorists opened fire at night on a camp of a Sikh LI battalion in the Billawar area of Kathua.
Locals report frequent sightings of terrorists in Kathua's remote forests but the Police establishment is prone to discount their credibility.
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