Weeks after two jumped into river, Pak hands over bodies at Uri border

Nearly three weeks after a boy and girl from the northern Kashmir border town of Uri allegedly jumped into the Jhelum river, the authorities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Saturday handed over their bodies to Indian officials at the Kaman post in Uri.

On March 5, the boy and girl, both from villages in Uri, had jumped into the Jhelum river, which flows into PoK. The two families have yet to comment on what led to the incident. Following the incident, authorities launched an immediate search operation to recover the missing duo, but despite their efforts, the bodies were not found for several days.

On Thursday, rescuers spotted the boy’s body on the Indian side of the Jhelum, but the strong currents prevented retrieval and the body was carried towards the PoK side. The body was later spotted by locals in the Chinari area of PoK, who alerted the authorities. Pakistan’s Army was subsequently contacted about the discovery.

Sources revealed that the girl’s body also flowed towards PoK, and it was found by locals there.

On Saturday, in a demonstration of “humanitarian cooperation the Indian Army officials coordinated efforts to retrieve the mortal remains," an Army official said, adding that the bodies of both missing youth were formally handed over by Pakistani officials to the Indian Army at the Kaman Aman Setu, Uri sector.