Three missing youths found dead in Neelum Valley forest

MUZAFFARABAD: The bodies of three youths who had been missing for more than two months were recovered from a stream in Jagrang forest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Neelum Valley, their families and police said on Monday.

The deceased were identified as Nasir, Yasir and Faisal, according to their relatives.

The families said the three youths had left for Jagrang forest on June 6 to search for medicinal herbs. Their contact was lost after June 7, following which missing persons reports were registered at different police stations.

Despite searches continuing for more than two months, the families said no trace of the three youths could be found.

Their bodies were eventually discovered in a stream in Jagrang forest, according to the relatives.

The families further claimed that the bodies of Nasir and Yasir, two brothers from Cholai, were found with their throats slit.

They also claimed that fresh blood was still flowing from Faisal’s body when it was recovered.

Police took custody of all three bodies and shifted them to the district headquarters hospital Neelum for post-mortem examination.

SHO Wajahat Kazmi said that the disappearance of the three youths had already been reported to police and that further action would be taken after the bodies were formally identified.

He said that an investigation into the incident was under way and police were examining the matter from different angles.

The SHO said that further details would be shared after the post-mortem reports were received.

The circumstances surrounding the deaths remain unclear, while police are investigating the cause of death and the events leading to the disappearance of the three youths.