Jammu and Kashmir: Abducted former SPO killed by terrorists in Shopian village

A former special police officer (SPO) Basharat Ahmad Wagay was killed on Friday after he was kidnapped by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district. His bullet-riddled body was recovered, hours after he was kidnapped, a police official said.

Besides the former SPO, two other persons were also kidnapped by unidentified gunmen.

Terrorists in a brutal act of terror killed an individual in Shopian after he was kidnapped from Reban area of Shopian earlier. 3 young men kidnapped forcibly by terrorists were identified as Reyaz Ahmad, Zahid Ahmad and Basharat Ahmad. The two of them were set free: J&K Police

— ANI (@ANI) November 23, 2018

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A police statement issued late Friday night said that three civilians — including Basharat — were abducted “forcibly by terrorists” from Reban area of Shopian earlier in the day. “Two of them were set free. However, police retrieved the body of Basharat Ahmad from village Nikloora in Pulwama. His body was handed over to his family after completion of medico-legal formalities,” said the statement.

Basharat and the two others — Reyaz Ahmad and Zahid Ahmad — were all residents of Reban.

12 people have been abducted in Shopian district since November 15.

On Friday, security forces gunned down six Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, including one, who was accused of killing Rising Kashmir editor-in-chief Shujaat Bukhari, in a gun battle in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

The accused has been identified as Azad Malik and was eliminated in Sekipora area of Bijbhera at the wee hours of Friday. The operation was jointly conducted by Indian Army's 3 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), 166 battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the police force of the state Jammu and Kashmir.

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The other terrorists killed in the ensuing encounter were Unais Shafi, Shahid Bashir, Basit Ishtiyaq, Aqib Najar and Firdous Najar. The security forces launched a cordon and search operation following specific inputs about the presence of terrorists in the wopods of Sekipora. The operation turned into a gun battle after terrorists opened fire on the forces.