MUZAFFARABAD: The bodies of three young men who had been missing for over two months were recovered from a stream in the Jagrang forest of Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Neelum Valley, officials and family members confirmed on Monday.
The deceased were identified as Nasir, Yasir, and Faisal by their relatives. The families reported that the trio had ventured into the Jagrang forest on June 6 to collect medicinal herbs. Contact with them was lost after June 7, prompting the filing of missing persons reports at various police stations.
Despite extensive search efforts spanning more than two months, no clues about their whereabouts emerged until their bodies were eventually discovered in a stream within the forest. Relatives stated that Nasir and Yasir, who were brothers from Cholai, were found with their throats slit. Additionally, they claimed that fresh blood was still oozing from Faisal’s body when it was recovered.
Authorities took custody of the bodies and transported them to the district headquarters hospital in Neelum for post-mortem examinations. SHO Wajahat Kazmi confirmed that the disappearances had been reported earlier and assured that further steps would be taken following formal identification of the bodies.
He added that an investigation is ongoing, with police exploring multiple angles to determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths. The cause of death and the events leading to the disappearance remain unclear, and more information will be released once post-mortem results are available.
