May 7, 2025
NEW DELHI – Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that the hunt for the perpetrators should not affect innocent people after the death of a Kulgam man, who jumped into the river while leading security forces to the terrorist hideout.
Referring to the alleged arrests of locals in several areas of Kashmir, Abdullah urged security forces that this message should not be conveyed that locals are being punished.
“What happened in Kulgam shouldn’t have happened, but not only Kulgam, the news of arrests, which is coming from different places in Kashmir, for the first time, the people of Jammu & Kashmir, especially Kashmir, came on the street against the attack and have shown their anger. This message shouldn’t be conveyed to them that they all are being punished,” the CM told reporters in Srinagar on Tuesday.
“We all understand the situation here, we cannot ignore it or refuse its existence, but we must look into it so that we don’t affect the innocent people of Jammu & Kashmir in our efforts to catch those who were involved in the Pahalgam attack. We have conveyed this concern of ours where we can,” said Abdullah.
He further added: “It should not look like that to catch a few perpetrators, we are arresting multiple locals. We need to be careful and take steps logically.”
His remarks came after family members of a 23-year-old man alleged that he was picked up by the Army, days before his body was found in a stream, and demanded an investigation into his death.
The police claimed that he jumped into the river while leading them to a terrorist hideout. Later, a purported video of the incident also surfaced, corroborating the police claims.
In the purported video, a man is seen coming out of the bushes and jumping into the river.
Identified as Imtiaz Ahmad Magray, the man was suspected to have helped the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack in which 26 people — mostly tourists from across the country — were killed.
His family, however, claimed that he worked as a labourer outside the state and had returned to the Valley only 15 days ago.