Hours after he was abducted by suspected militants, a Jammu and Kashmir constable’s body was found at Redwani Payeen in South Kashmir. Constable Saleem Shah was abducted from his home at Mutalhama village in Kulgam. He was undergoing training at Kathua and was at home on leave. Police said that Shah was kidnapped on the intervening night of July 20-21 by suspected militants, after they barged into his house. He was allegedly taken to an unknown place before being killed. A search was launched to trace the constable, however, his body was recovered from a nursery near village Redwani Payeen under the Wanpoh police station on Saturday afternoon. “The body had severe torture marks, indicating that he was brutally tortured to death by the terrorists,” police said in a statement. Shah was recently promoted to the post of a constable and had joined the force as a Special Police Officer (SPO). He had joined the force in 2016, and after completing his basic training, he was posted to Pulwama. Shah was the only earning member of his family and is survived by his parents, two brothers and a sister. Police suspect the involvement of Hizbul Mujahideen in the abduction and killing. On July 6, constable Javaid Ahmad Dar, also at home on leave, was abducted from Vehil in Shopian. His body was found near a stream by local residents in Pariwan, Kulgam the next day.
