Horrific Execution of a Young Girl by Unknown Gunmen Shocks Kashmir, Video Goes Viral

SRINAGAR: Unknown gunmen last night shot dead a young girl from point blank range in the restive south Kashmir’s Shopian district and the execution video was shared on social media, in what Jammu and Kashmir police termed as a “terror crime”.

Officials said a group of suspected militants abducted the girl identified as Ishrat Muneer Bhat, a native of Dangerpora in Pulwama district, from her home and took her to an unknown location.

The bullet-riddled body of the victim was recovered from Cherbagh of Draggad village in the adjoining Shopian district today morning, sending shockwaves across the Valley.

In a ten-second video that has gone viral on social media, the victim is seen pleading for clemency with folded hands before the gunmen fire two shots, killing her instantly.

According to reports, the girl is believed to be the maternal cousin of former Al-Badr chief, Zeenat-ul-Islam, who was gunned down along with an associate in an encounter at Katpora Kulgam on January 13.

"We are trying to trace the IP address from which the video was uploaded on social media. A case under Section 302 has been registered and investigations are going on to nab the culprits," a senior police officer said.

This is not the first time that an execution video of a Kashmir has been uploaded on social media. On November 16, the bullet riddled body of 17-year-old Nadeem Manzoor was found in Niklora village of Shopian district.

In a video released after his killing, the victim is seen pleading for clemency even as a group of militants accuse him of passing on information to security agencies that resulted in the killing of two militants.

On the next day, another video showed an unknown man slitting the throat of 19-year-old Huzaif Ashraf Kuttay in an orchard in Hermain village of Shopian.

“I am very poor, that’s why I became an informer. I thought the money will help me to pay back my loans. They (forces) paid me Rs 10000 and asked me to give information on Shahjahan and Waseem,” Huzaif says in the video before being executed.

Police believes the tactic of releasing execution videos is an attempt by militants to scare people who work as informers with security agencies. Hizbul Mujahideen’s operational commander Riyaz Naikoo had claimed responsibility for the November killings.

“Some people say that militants have no mercy. If the two companions who achieved martyrdom due to Nadeem’s information belonged to your family, then perhaps you would not be talking like this. From today, we’ll only be exposing videos of death. And whosoever betrays our movement will face the same consequences,” Riyaz is heard as saying in an audio clip that was released after the killings.

No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the killing of the young girl so far.

“Late evening yesterday a gruesome terror crime video has surfaced in several social media platforms. Police is ascertaining the details.@JmuKmrPolice,” Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Twitter today morning.