Kathua Killings: Mystery Deepens as Locals Suspect Terror Link in Deaths of Civilians, Including 12-Year-Old Boy:

The unsolved slayings of five civilians in the Kohag and Lohai Malhar regions of the Jammu Kashmir border region of Kathua, one being a 12 year old boy, on February 16 and March 5-7, 2025, is baffling. Yet, the scene of the crime suggests that a combination of Pakistani terrorists and local militants with the help of overground workers (OGWs) have been active in this region.

Civilians killed in March

The remains of Darshan Singh (40), Yogesh Kumar (32), and Baroon Thakur (12) were located within the basin of the Ichhu waterfall on March 8. The three were part of a wedding procession in size of more than 150, of Yogesh's sibling who was serving in the Grenadiers Regiment. They trekked through thick forests and steep ridges towards Suraag village from Capt. S Sujata’s place with the intention of going back to Delhi, but lost their way due to poor visibility and subsequently died. As514At*Singh’s and KK Kumar's mugshots that were distributed to the media labelled them reporters. As none of them showed signs of a gunshot or marks of torture, media and law enforcement labeled it as an “accidental fall.” It was further hypothesized that the middle easterners drank alcohol as a 750 ml whisky vessel that was one quarter full was found in the two male adult's backpacks.

At this point, the accounts from the soldiers who took part in the dangerous hunt for the three civilians trapped in rough country often visited by cold blooded and highly skilled Pakistani terrorists, came into direct conflict with the media claims which were very far from reality. They referred to details omitted in the coverage.

The mystery surrounding the deaths of a few men near Kinnaur has sparked much debate. While the investigation into the injuries is underway, Singh has some questions. “If Baroon and Yogesh fell into the waterfall, then how do you explain Baroon’s open jeans, while Darshan’s shirt was found with his brother-in-law?” They spent a few days in unforgiving wintry cold at high altitude where Darshan was also found bare chested. Less than a week following these incidents, the Indian media suggested that Darshan had suffered a cold-induced death. Further suggesting that other people caught in the accident hadn’t died after a 300 foot drop due to head or shoulder injuries they inflicted upon themselves during the fall. Surely at some stage they were bound to wonder about how they were able to breathe during the descent if it would cause the blood vessels to burst. Not only was there not enough water where all three men were found for drowning, but how do three people manage to fall together so conveniently?

"We're still waiting on the internal organs report, but it will probably shed some light on if Darshan and Yogesh consumed alcohol during the trip. It is customary for families to take alcohol with them to marriage functions. The evidence, along with the surrounding circumstances, suggests that they were kidnapped by terrorists concealed in the jungles, and subsequently died from drowning, strangulation, or some form of poison,” Singh stated."

February murders

The 16th of February, 2025, saw the discovery of the bodies of Roshan and Shamsher, located beside a stream at the village Batheri, which is quite a far distance from their home village Kohag. The two had gone into the jungle to find yams, and this excursion started the evening prior. Both bodies had the throats gashed open. Kathua SSP Shobhit Saxena vaguely ascribed an “internecine quarrel” to the Kohag deaths, fiercely refusing the suggestion of a terror angle, however.

While terrorists did not claim responsibility for the Kohag slayings, they did indirectly accept the murders of the three 'baraatis' in the Kashmiri style. A worrying sign that the results are evident is worth pondering because a shadowy group of Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed known as the Kashmir Tigers issued a Telegram warning on March 8 that read, “strong winds are blowing and it is advisable to not venture into the forests. Prey is being hunted by hungry falcons that are circling in the sky.” On March 7, a day prior, when frantic searches were still being conducted for the missing ‘baraatis,’ the terrorist group made the first statement, claiming, “every motion is being tracked. The falcons have captured their prey.”

Establishing a Narrative

With these instances in which terrorists can't consider the non-combatant victims as informants or VDG, how self-destructive does one have to be? For these instances, no terrorism indicators like gunshot wounds are left, thus implying a purposeful attempt is made to kill. In human rights brackets and parts of the global community There is an image that is being carefully cultivated of “freedom fighters” who only battle with the “occupational Army”, hence this serves the purpose of not providing the local Police great scope to “investigate all possible avenues” in the matter. As a result, the deaths remain unexplained and the phrase “declining terror incidents” remains protected.

On the 7th of November 2024, Kishtwar’s outskirts saw policemen stumble upon the corpses of Kuldip Kumar and Nazir Ahmed. They were VDGs and had their eyes mutilated. The KT published a declaration that very day: “Both have been eliminated…consider it a warning…do not associate yourself with VDG or else you will end up in the same predicament…Just keep in mind, we have not murdered a single Hindu till now, lets. We are battling against Indian occupation forces.”

Not the Ideal Situation

People who work casually without being VDGs or informants, and are at times roaming around in the dense forests have become a vulnerable target for terrorists. This is where the detailed terrorist tactics used by the militants came to light from the mobile phones found on the two casualties of the Basantgarh (Udhampur district) skirmish on 12 September 2024 by 1 Para (SF) battalion. The devices contained images of two Pakistani terrorists perched over graizer Maan Singh Gaadi of Asar, Batote (Doda district) with a string attempting to strangle him while the third smothered the old man's nose with a cloth.

Gaadi was reported missing on August 12, 2024, and his remains along with personal effects were not found until September 20, 2024. His remains were dismembered using an axe, suggesting his death was staged by terrorists wanting to mask the murder of a non-combatant.

The day after Gaadi was confirmed alive for the last time, the Army claimed that he had been murdered by terrorists. In response to their claim, The KT made a statement on August 15 of stating that they have “complete indifference” to this killing adding that “the Mujahideen does not harm any civilian.” The KT statement was, however, negated by the images depicting Gaadi's death that were later uncovered from the Basantgarh encounter.

Noteworthy details regarding the March event.

Shiv K. Sharma, the DIG in charge of the Jammu-Samba-Kathua police range, shared with this reporter that “all avenues are being explored regarding the three ‘baraatis’ case, even that of a terrorist incident.” However, Baroon was wearing his trousers inside out because in these remote hilly regions, it is customary to do so for certain functions to protect the clothes from becoming soiled from the rough journey. After arriving at the function site, the clothes are worn in the proper manner. We are waiting for the family to get some rest and finish the mourning, and then we will photograph the outgoing ‘baraat.’ That will authenticate the claim that the child was wearing jeans inside out.

More than two weeks have passed since the discovery of the three ‘baraatis’ dead and the families have now gone to Haridwar to perform the immersion. The Kathua Police has still not gotten in touch with the families in reference to the photographs of the ‘baraat' to confirm the supposed traditions. “We do not practice such ridiculous customs of wearing clothes the other way round as claimed by the DIG. Baroon was in a school in Jammu.

We not only have the photographs but even a videography of the ‘baraat’ before it left which clearly shows that all three were clothed properly. The Police is invited to view them, and all such unfounded beliefs can be put to rest. The point is that these events do not integrate into the advocated theory of random tumble," said Singh. Kathua lies in the extreme reaches of the Area of Responsibility AOR of not the Northern Command's 16 Corps, but Western Command's 9 Corps HQs in Yol Himachal Pradesh. On July 8, 2024, a convoy of 22 Garhwal Rifles was ambushed on Badnotta Machhedi stretch in Kathua by KT terrorists 5 soldiers were killed in action. Then on January 25, 2025, terrorists in the night opened fire on a camp of the Sikh LI battalion in the Billawar area of Kathua. Locals claim that there are terrorists in hiding in the dense forests around Kathua. However, the Police establishment tends to disregard these reports.