On-camera executions, the new fear factor in Shopian

editorial@tribune.com

Majid Jahangir
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, November 18

In another spell of violence this week, Shopian in south Kashmir saw kidnappings, militant killings and slaughter of civilians. A dangerous dimension to the sordid saga was on-camera recording of executions, released on social media platforms.  

Two videos showed the execution of two youths, one of them dubbed by militants as an Army informer. 

Of the eight youths abducted since November 15, two — Nadeem Manzoor (17) and Huzaif Ashraf (19) — were killed. Nadeem’s bullet-riddled body was found hours after he was abducted. 

Operational chief of the Hizbul Mujahideen Riyaz Naikoo took responsibility for the killing. He accused Nadeem of informing the Army about the presence of two militants in Safanagri village. A purported video of Nadeem confessing that he was an informer surfaced on the social media later. 

On November 6, two Hizb militants, one of them an Army deserter, identified as Mohd Idrees Sultan, had died in a pre-dawn encounter. 

Five youths were abducted in Saidpora Payeen and Memandar areas on November 17. Throat slit, the body of one Huzaif was found later. The others were released. A short clip on the social media showed a masked man slaughtering Huzaif. 

“We suspect the hand of Hizb’s local Abbas module behind this barbaric act,”  said a police officer. “Both Nadeem and Huzaif were innocent,” Shopian SSP Sandeep Chaudhry said. In an encounter in Shopian on November 18, two Al-Badr militants were killed. The police said they were ascertaining whether they had a role in Nadeem’s killing.