SRINAGAR: Two persons, including a panchayat member, were found dead near a nullah in the frontier town of Kupwara in North Kashmir on Saturday, with relatives suspecting foul play.
Spotted by locals in the Goos area, the bodies were lying about 200 yards apart some distance away from an abandoned Sumo vehicle.
Identified as 33-year-old Muhammad Shafi Lone, an elected panchayat member, and 60-year-old Muhammad Jamal Mir, both from the Gund, Khumriyal area, the duo, according to their relatives, had visited Kupwara yesterday for Friday prayers.
When they did not return that night, we surmised that they might have been delayed by curfew and hartal and stayed the night at somebodys house, their families said.
Lone had recently been engaged and was scheduled to tie the knot in March.
The police have launched a hunt for the absconding Sumo driver identified as one Bashir Ahmad Neelu of Zangli, Kupwara.
Though the vehicle was found with its windscreen smashed, relatives ruled out a road accident, saying the Sumo too would have fallen into the stream in that case.
How is it that vehicle was on the road, and the bodies were some distance away close to the nullah? they asked.
Suspecting foul play, the victims relatives have demanded a thorough investigation.
Registering an FIR under sections 379 and 304A, the police have got an autopsy of the two victims conducted at the sub-district hospital in Kupwara.
The Block Medical Officer (BMO) for the area said that the post mortem report was awaited.
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