Jammu, March 9 (IANS) Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said on Sunday that three missing persons of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district have been killed by terrorists, and it was a matter of grave concern.

The Minister of State (PMO) posted on X in Hindi (loosely translated as), “The brutal killing of 3 youths by terrorists in the Bani area of ​​district #Kathua is extremely sad as well as a matter of great concern. There appears to be a deep conspiracy behind spoiling the atmosphere in this peaceful area. We have discussed this matter with the concerned officials. The Union Home Secretary himself is reaching Jammu so that the situation can be assessed on the spot. I am confident that such incidents will not happen again, and the confidence of the people remains strong.”

The bodies of three civilians who had gone missing from the Kathua district were found by the security forces on Saturday.

Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan is arriving in Jammu on Sunday to review the security situation in the union territory with a focus on making the Jammu division terrorist free.

The top brass of the Intelligence Bureau, BSF, CRPF, J&K Police, and UT intelligence officials and senior officers of the UT administration will attend the meeting.

Officials said that the bodies of three Hindu civilians, who went missing from Kathua district in Jammu on Thursday, have been found in the upper reaches of Billawar.

The three civilians went missing in the Lohai Malhar area of Kathua after they left home to attend a marriage in the Billawar area on Thursday.

Locals of the area said the civilians went missing at around 8.30 p.m. on Thursday when a marriage party was going from the Dehota village of Billawar to the Surag village of Lohai Malhar.

Those missing were identified as 35-year-old Jogesh Singh from Marhoon village, 40-year-old Darshan Singh from Dehota village and 14-year-old Baroon Singh from Dehota village of Billawar Tehsil of the district.

A BJP MLA on Friday raised in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly the issue of the three missing civilians and sought a response from the government.

It may be mentioned that due to the prevailing security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, alarm bells start ringing whenever a civilian goes missing. In the past, many youths who apparently were not connected with terrorism went missing and were later found to have joined the ranks of the terrorists or were found killed by terrorists.

It is for this reason that the first thing the police and the security forces have to rule out in missing person cases is whether or not there is a terror angle to such disappearances.

Earlier in February, three civilians had also gone missing from the Kulgam district of the Kashmir Division.

These three civilians were also on their way to attend a marriage when they went missing. According to family members, the trio — Reyaz Ahmad and Showkat Ahmad of Chandian Pajan and Mukhtar Ahmad of Pratap Pora Lammer — went missing on the evening of February 13 after leaving their homes to attend a wedding at their maternal uncle’s house in Ashmuji Bhan, Kulgam.

Despite contacting all relatives and friends, the families have been unable to trace their whereabouts. “We have filed a missing report at the Qazigund Police Station,” they stated, urging anyone with information to reach the families.

–IANS

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