Kathua killings, ongoing probe does not point to terror angle, says government official

Jammu and Kashmir officials rule out terror angle in deaths of three persons in Kathua, suspect militant revival in region.

Days after Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that three persons, including a 15-year-old boy, whose bodies were found in Kathua’s Billawar area were killed by “terrorists”, a senior Jammu and Kashmir government official said the circumstances and the medical reports have so far ruled out a terror angle so far. Police said they died due to fall from a height.

Another government official said that around 150 terrorists are suspected to be present in Jammu and Kashmir, of which around 10-15 are locals, while the remaining are foreigners. The official added that around 80 foreign terrorists are suspected to be active in Jammu region.

Since 2021, there have been concerted attempts to revive militancy in Jammu region, in Chenab Valley comprising Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Kathua, Udhampur and Reasi districts and south of the Pir Panjal comprising Rajouri and Poonch districts. While terror incidents have been common in Kashmir Valley, militant activity revived in the Jammu belt that has remained free of such incidents in the past two decades.

The official said the bodies of the three persons — Varun Singh (15), Yogesh Singh (32) and Darshan Singh (40) — bore no torture marks and there was no sign of strangulation or a bullet wound.

The victims went missing from Lohai Malhar area since March 5 when they were heading home after attending a wedding. The bodies were spotted near a waterfall with the help of drones and ground patrolling by security forces.

Kathua district is part of Udhampur constituency, which Mr. Singh represents in the Lok Sabha.

On March 9, Mr. Singh had posted on X: “The brutal killing of 3 youth by terrorists in Bani area of district #Kathua is extremely sad as well as a matter of great concern. There appears to be a deep conspiracy behind spoiling the atmosphere in this peaceful area.”