STATE TIMES NEWS Bhadarwah: To express their resentment over the death of a 23-years-old youth, people along with family members hold protest at Bhalla area Bhadarwah after blocking Bhadarwah-Doda highway for hours demanding strict action against the culprits involved in alleged murder of the youth. According to reports, yesterday evening a 23-year-old youth was found dead under mysterious circumstances in forest area of Trown village in additional district Bhadarwah. However the family of deceased youth has alleged foul play in the incident and demanded fair investigation and arrest of culprits at the earliest. Agitated over the alleged murder of a 23-year-old youth, hundreds of people, including women, blocked the Doda – Bhadarwah national highway, near the Bhalla area, disrupting vehicular traffic for over four hours, here today. According to reports, the autopsy was conducted today at the SDH Bhadarwah, but the residents refused to take the body and while holding a protest blocked Doda- Bhadarwah national highway for several hours at Bhalla. They demanded that immediate FIR should be lodged against the suspects and the arrest should be made at the earliest. According to the father of the deceased Narjeet Kumar a resident of village Thalsara, his son Sanjeet Kotwal (23) went for haircut and to offer prayers at hill top temple in Trown area at 1pm but at 6 PM he came to know that his body was found in the dense forest. Senior police officers rushed to the scene and tried to pacify the protesters. They assured them of a fair and transparent investigation into the case. On the assurance of the police officers, the protesters removed the body from the highway around 4 pm. After 4 hours of hectic efforts and assurance from Incharge SSP Doda Abdul Qayoom and DDC Chairman Dhananter Singh Kotwal, residents lifted the sit in protest and agreed to take the body. The police said the cause of the death would be established only after the autopsy report was received. When contacted Incharge SSP Doda Abdul Qayoom said that inquest proceedings under 174 Crpc has been initiated into the matter beside an SIT has been constituted led by DySP Hqrs Doda Jaswant Singh. “We are investigating the case from all angles and soon will reach to the culprits, who is involved in the incident,” Qayoom added, saying that investigation is under process and we have also put the number of deceased on technical analysis to get some clues.
