Nov. 4, Bandipora: On Saturday, the corpse of a man who had been missing for eight days was discovered floating in a stream in the Bandipora district of north Kashmir, causing a stir among the community.
Manzoor Ahmad Lone, a 28-year-old Hajin native and school bus driver from Paribal village, was last seen by his brother in the family’s orchard on October 26. He vanished from sight on Saturday.
Sarpanch Farooq Ahmad, the president of Gousia Sumo Stand Hajin, said, “We searched in the forest, river, and every area we could to locate him, but we had no success.”
He could not be located, despite the police having initiated a search operation a few days earlier with the assistance of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).
On Saturday morning, nevertheless, a fisherman from Nichair in the neighboring town of Banyari unexpectedly called the family.
“He requested that we come and identify a body that was taken from a Nallah,” the family said. Police arrived on the scene shortly after, accompanied by his relatives, who verified his identification.
According to his family, Manzoor worked as a passenger taxi driver in Hajin, going from school to school. His registration was at the Gousia Sumo Stand.
According to a coworker, “he mostly ferried schoolchildren.” But he failed to show up at the booth on a holiday. The cow had also accompanied Manzoor to the orchard, where he had been working.
His brother had instructed him to go back home, but instead, he begged that he take the cow and promised to be back shortly. But he never came back.
Manzoor’s cousin Hilal Ahmad said, “The family believes it was a murder.”
According to authorities, “the case is likely a drowning incident pending the FSL report. The doctors at CHC Hajin, where his body was taken for a postmortem, have not found any evidence of torture or physical injuries on his body.”
When Manzoor’s corpse was brought to his house after the medico-legal procedures, there was a convulsion, with ladies sobbing uncontrollably and hitting their chests.
26-year-old Waheeda Bano, who went missing from the adjacent town of Saderkoot Payeen, was also discovered dead on Thursday.
The lady had vanished from sight three days before, according to the villagers. The police are now looking into each situation independently.
