A male decomposed body recovered in an orchard in Mohammadpora village of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Wednesday was handed over to the family of the Territorial Army (TA) soldier who was abducted by suspected militants last year, for last rites after they claimed the body was of their son.
The slain TA soldier, Shakir Manzoor, a rifleman with the 162 Battalion of Indian Army’s Territorial Army unit went missing on August 2, 2020 from Reshipora in south Kashmir’s shopian district. His car was found abandoned in the area.
Authorities are yet to establish whether the body was of the slain army personnel or not as forensic reports are yet to come but was laid to rest in Reshipora Harmain, the native village of the deceased Army personnel in presence of his family members. GOC Victor Force, Commander 2 Sector, CO 34 RR were also present.
Father of Shakir Manzoor, deceased TA soldier, Manzoor Ahmad Wagay told The Kashmir Walla that they asked authorities to allow them to perform the last rights of the deceased as they were sure that the body was of his son.
He said, “we assured authorities that if it is establish through DNA that the body is not of our son (Shakir Manzoor) will hand over the body then.”
The family of the TA personnel was sure that the body was of his son after they found some signs on the decomposed body.
Wagay, after inspecting the decomposed body on Wednesday claimed that his son had met with an accident a few years back and had marks of stitches on his foot and he found the same marks of stitches on the foot of the body.
He said that his son would always wear a bracelet “and that bracelet is still hanging on his wrist,” Wagay said.
Family of Shakir Manzoor have been searching for his body since he went missing. A family member of Shakir Manzoor told this reporter last week that they have spent at least 10 lac rupees while searching for the body.
“We hired bulldozers and laborers for nearly 6 months to dig the suspected places to find his body,” they said.
During the day-long searches for his son, Wagay found his blood soaked clothes days after he went missing last year. With trace of the decomposed body on wednesday the search of the Wagay family for his missing son is expected to come to an end as they see their son in the decomposed body.
