Pahalgam attack: A man who allegedly provided food and shelter to terrorists and later confessed the knowledge of their hideouts drowned after he jumped into a river while escaping from the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
The deceased, identified as 23-year-old Imtiyaz Ahmad Magray, an over ground worker working for LeT, jumped into Vishaw Nallah in a bid to flee while he was guiding the security forces and probe agencies to a terrorist hideout in the region, sources told News18. Meanwhile, his family has alleged foul play and claimed he died in police’s custody.
A video of the incident was widely shared across the social media platforms where the man can be seen jumping into the river. He tried to swim, but the strong current carried him away and he drowned.
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As per the sources, Magray was held by the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday for questioning in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. During interrogation, he reportedly confessed to have provided food and logistics to terrorists hiding in the forest in Kulgam’s Tangmarg.
He then assured the security forces to lead them to the terrorists’ hideouts. On Sunday, while leading a joint team of the police and the army to raid the hideout, Magray in a bid to flee jumped into the river, sources added.
“When CASO (cordon and search operation) was launched, the deceased went to the hideout spot (near the riverbed) under close supervision via videographed drone. Consequently, he jumped into Veshaw Nalla and probably tried to escape via the river route,” the police said on Sunday.
His body was fished out from the Adbal stream in the Aharbal area of Kulgam later.
On Sunday, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti alleged a conspiracy in the incident and said that there were serious allegations of foul play in the death of Magray.
“Yet another body has been recovered from a river in Kulgam raising serious allegations of foul play. Local residents allege that Imtiyaz Magray was picked up by the army two days ago and now mysteriously his body has surfaced in the river,” she said in a post on X .
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The former chief minister further said the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam appears to be a calculated attempt to derail the fragile peace, disrupt tourism in Kashmir and undermine communal harmony across the country.
She further called for an impartial investigation into the death.
In one of the biggest attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, Lashkar-linked terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists in Pahalgam on Tuesday, April 22, killing at least 26 people, including foreign tourists, and injuring many others. The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar offshoot, claimed responsibility for the attack, although it later backtracked after massive global outrage. News 18
