Kathua Killings: J&K LG Orders Thorough Probe, Union Minister Alleges 'Conspiracy'

“"I am shocked and saddened beyond words at the brutal killing of Varun Singh, Yogesh Singh and Darshan Singh of Kathua. In this hour of grief, I offer my deepest condolences to their families and friends," said Sinha’s office in a post on X.

“I have ordered a thorough and transparent investigation, and all the necessary support to the families will be provided. I assure the people that the perpetrators will be brought to book at the earliest. Justice will be ensured and accountability will be fixed," it said in another post.

The civilians had been missing since Thursday night following which a large-scale search operation was launched in the Lohai Malhar area of Kathua district to locate them. The Indian Army, along with the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG), conducted the joint manhunt.

Locals in the area had said the three civilians disappeared around 8:30 p.m on Thursday. They had left home to attend a wedding in the Billawar area. The wedding party was travelling from Dehota village of Billawar to Surag village in Lohai Malhar.

J&K Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary condoled the killings, and said “increasing crime is a matter of concern." He also expressed concern over the “life-threatening" attack on Bani MLA Rameshwar Singh, who was assaulted by a group of protesters while he had gone to meet the family members of the deceased at a local hospital in Billawar late Saturday night.

Union Minister Blames Terrorists, Claims ‘Conspiracy’

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday pointed to the involvement of terrorists in the killing of three civilians in a remote area in Billawar tehsil of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district. The minister said the killings were a matter of great concern.

“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," the minister, who represents Udhampur Parliamentary constituency that covers Kathua, said on X.

“We have discussed this matter with the officials concerned. The Union Home Secretary himself is reaching Jammu so that the situation can be assessed on the spot. I am confident that it will be ensured that such incidents do not happen again and the confidence of the people remains strong," he said.

Officials said Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan is reviewing the security situation at a meeting here.

A shutdown was observed in Billawar and adjoining areas on Sunday to protest the killing of the three civilians.

“This is a clear case of target killings by terrorists, engulfing the peaceful area in fear and anger…we want the government to intensify the anti-terrorist operations in the forests to neutralise the terrorists hiding in the forests for the last one year," local BJP leader Gopal Krishan, who led a group of protesters at Phinter chowk, said. He said the people will not allow the terrorists to succeed in their designs and harm the communal harmony by carrying out selective killings.

Senior BJP leader and Billawar MLA Satish Sharma, who visited the deceased family, said it is premature to say who killed the three civilians. “It is a matter of investigation as nobody has seen how they were killed. Police are looking in all aspects, including the terror angle, in the case," he said, adding a clear picture will emerge once the postmortem report comes.

The Congress demanded a high-level investigation to clear the apprehensions of locals and overcome the current situation of “great fear" and sense of insecurity in the entire belt.

In a similar civilians missing incident in February, the bodies of two villagers, Shamsher (37) and Roshan (45), were found in the village of Kohag in Billawar. However, their postmortem later revealed they had been strangled to death.

(with PTI inputs)