J&K: Police team formed to investigate Kathua killings, all aspects will be looked into, says DIG

Jammu, Mar 9 (PTI) A team has been formed to probe the death of three persons whose bodies were found near a waterfall in a remote forested area in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, a senior police officer said on Sunday.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Jammu-Kathua-Samba Range, Shiv Kumar said all aspects of the case will be looked into and the results of the investigation will be shared with the public soon.

The bodies of Varun Singh (15), his paternal uncle Yogesh Singh (32) and maternal uncle Darshan Singh (40) were found from the Ishu nullah in the remote Malhar area in the higher reaches of Kathua on Saturday. The trio had gone missing on March 5 during a wedding function.

Accompanied by Senior Superintendent of Police, Kathua, Shobit Saxena and Additional Deputy Commissioner Vinay Khosla, the DIG met the protesting locals of Malhar, Malad, Marhoon, Deota and adjoining areas in Billawar, and assured them that the security arrangements will further be strengthened.

“A team has been constituted for the investigation of the case, while the Village Defence Guards (VDGs) will be strengthened to make people feel secure. Those willing to be part of the security grid will be given training,” Kumar told reporters in Billawar.

He said several police and Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel are already on the ground to secure the area, along with Army and paramilitary forces.

“The teams are working on every aspect of the case and keeping a close watch (on the situation). We are hopeful that the results will be in front of everyone very soon,” the officer said.

He said what exactly happened is a matter of investigation and as the probe progresses, information will be shared accordingly.

Meanwhile, the postmortem of the deceased was conducted by a specially-constituted doctors’ team at a Kathua hospital and the bodies were handed over to their families for the last rites.

The bodies reached the homes of the deceased late on Sunday evening and the cremation will take place on Monday, officials said.