Shyam Sood

Rajouri, June 15

The last rites of Rifleman Aurangzeb couldn’t be held on Friday as the helicopter carrying his body couldn’t take off from Kashmir due to bad weather.Hundreds of people had gathered for Aurangzeb’s last rites at Salani village when the news arrived that bad weather had grounded the helicopter carrying his body. The last rites are likely to take place on Saturday now.Aurangzeb, son of ex-serviceman Mohd Hanif, had joined the Army about five years ago. He was on the way home to join Eid celebrations with his family when he was abducted.“Army men stopped a private car outside the 44 RR camp at Shadimarg (Shopian) at about 9 am and requested the driver to drop Aurangzeb at Shopian. As the car reached near Kalampora, it was stopped by the militants and Aurangzeb was abducted. Later, his bullet-ridden and mutilated body was found near Gussu village in Pulwama district,” said the police.“My last contact with Aurangzeb was at 3 am on Thursday before ‘sehri.’ While on the way to Shopian in the car, he contacted his younger brother Shabir. For a few minutes, Shabir could hear Aurangzeb requesting someone to stop the car but then the phone got disconnected,” said Mohd Hanif.Senior officers and politicians visited the aggrieved family on Friday.His father sets 72-hour deadlineRifleman Aurangzeb’s family has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a decisive action on the Kashmir issue. His father Mohd Hanif, an ex-serviceman, said his family would avenge Aurangzeb’s killing if security forces failed to take action against militants within 72 hours