20-year-old succumbs to brutality

A 20-year-old terror victim died on Thursday, 14 days after he was abducted from his village at Qaimoh in South Kashmir's Kulgam district and allegedly tortured in custody by Hizbul Mujhadeen militants.

Omais Rasheed Bhat, a Class 12 student, was abducted on March 8 and was reportedly tortured to the extent that he suffered grievous internal and external injuries. Omais was then dumped in a semi-conscious state in the neighbouring Ves-Batpora village, where locals rushed him to the hospital, but he finally succumbed to his injuries on Thursday.

Meanwhile, militants owned up to the attack in posters and claimed that Omais was punished for his "anti-movement activities". Superintendent of Police, Kulgam, Shridhar Patil said that Hizbul Mujhadeen district commander Altaf Ahmad alias Kachro is the main accused in the case.