Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 24: Ganderbal Police recovered the body of 21-year-old Ajaz Ahmed Rather from a power canal in Kangan today, nearly 12 hours after he went missing.
Suspecting murder, which police said was carried out using a wire, two men have been arrested and a case registered.
A formal case, FIR No. 64/2025 under Section 103(1) BNS, has been registered at Police Station Kangan.
Police said Rather was strangled before his body was dumped in the canal.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ganderbal, Khalil Ahmad Poswal, said the deceased had been playing cricket with two acquaintances, identified as Niyazul Haq and Moieen, when tensions escalated.
“The two accused purchased a wire, captured on CCTV, and used it to strangle Ajaz before throwing his body into the canal,” he said.
The wire used in the murder has been recovered, and strangulation marks on the victim’s neck indicate the killing was deliberate, police added.
“Scientific and forensic methods will be employed to strengthen the case, and we are hopeful of securing a conviction against the accused,” the SSP said.
The body was retrieved after a 12-hour operation by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and police teams.
Officials said investigators are now piecing together the sequence of events leading to the crime, noting that a close friend of the deceased has emerged as the prime eyewitness, whose statement proved vital in cracking the case.
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