The bullet ridden body of a Kulgam man who was abducted by unknown gunmen in October this year has been found in Athuwo village of Shopian this morning.Police though had already lodged an abduction case was clueless while family had expected that abductors may release him.Shiraz Ahmed, the abducted man, was the owner of the house which was at the centre of an encounter between militants and government forces on October 21 at Laroo village of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district.The militants were present inside the house of Shiraz Ahmed when Government Forces cordoned it off and during the gun battle that lasted for several hours, three militants were killed. After the gun battle clashes and a mysterious explosion also claimed the lives of at least seven civilians.A couple of days after the incident, unknown armed men appeared in Laru village and abducted Shiraz Ahmed-the house owner. According to villagers, the armed men arrived in the village in a vehicle and bundled Shiraz into it.
Shortly, after the incident, Forces had arrived on the spot but they didn’t find anything during the search operation.Shiraz's parents had made an appeal to the abductors to release him. Her wife Nusrat Banoo said that militants were claiming that Shiraz is not with them.“We fail to understand who abducted him and what was his fault. A man was sent by militants who told us that militants have not abducted him,” she said but added that they are sure that Shiraz was picked up by militants.However, a relative of Shiraz said that militants can't keep a person with them for such a long time. "The matter needs to be thoroughly probed, he added.A police official while confirming the death of Shiraz said that he was mercilessly beaten and interrogated by abductors and his body had been buried in an apple orchard.Meanwhile, a large number of people participated in the funeral procession of the deceased. (CNS)