In a ghastly act, stone pelters have attacked the funeral procession of Lt Ummer Fayaz in Kashmir. Lt Fayaz, a young officer who joined the Indian Army five months ago, was abducted by five terrorists from his relative’s house in south Kashmir’s Shopian district last night. He was there to attend the wedding ceremony of his maternal cousin.
The officer was unarmed when he was kidnapped. The terrorists killed Lt Fayaz and his bullet riddled body was found in Harmain area of Shopian this morning.
The mortal remains of Lieutenant Umer Fayaz were laid to rest today but the stone pelters didn’t spare even the funeral. They pelted stones on the Army personnel, late Lt Fayaz’s family members and his near and dear ones who gathered to pay their last respects to the brave soldier in his ancestral village in Kulgaon.
Young and full of life, 22-year-old Lt Fayaz, the son of an apple farmer, was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of the Rajputana Rifles in December 10 last year. He was posted in Akhnoor area in Jammu. He had joined the 129 course of the National Defence Academy (NDA) and was allotted Delta Squadron. Fayaz was an excellent sportsman. During his days in NDA, Fayaz was part of the hockey team and also played volleyball.
The Army has called Lt Ummer Fayaz murder a “watershed moment” in Kashmir.
“This (killing of Lt Fayaz) marks a watershed moment in Kashmir valley and people of Kashmir will decisively turn the tide against terrorism,” said Lt Gen Abhay Krisha, General Officer Commanding-in-chief, the Rajputana Rifles.
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley called the abduction and murder of the young officer by terrorists a “dastardly act of cowardice.”
According to available data, as many as 64 Army soldiers were killed by terrorists in 2016.
The abduction and killing of Lt Ummer Fayaz came at a time when ‘Operation Clean Up’ is going on to flush South Kashmir of terrorists. Around 4,000 troops of Army, CRPF personnel and Jammu & Kashmir police are participating in this massive operation.
