Rajouri, May 25, 2005 (Daily Excelsior)

A civilian was gunned down by the militants in captivity at village Taragi under the jurisdiction of Dharamshal police station today while a Village Defence Committee (VDC) member reportedly ended his life at Koteranka.

Reports said bullet riddled dead body of Puran Chand son of Bindraban R/o Barooi Morha in Taragi village was recovered this afternoon from a forest area. Puran Chand was kidnapped by the militants from his house a couple of days back.

Today morning, the people staged a dharna at Taragi demanding that the civilian be traced. During searches, police recovered his dead body. The body was handed over to his family after post-mortem.

A VDC member Mohan Lal son of Mithu Ram R/o Badaal, Koteranka killed himself with his service weapon.