The accused — Abhishek and Honey — were arrested following a complaint by victim’s sister Nishant Kouser
The deceased has been identified as Liyakat Ali, a resident of Dher mohalla in Billawar town.
The deceased has been identified as Liyakat Ali, a resident of Dher mohalla in Billawar town.
A government degree college student was stabbed to death by three people in full public view in Billawar town of Kathua district on Monday afternoon. The deceased has been identified as Liyakat Ali, a resident of Dher mohalla in Billawar town. He was rushed to the Government Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
The three accused, two of them have been identified as Abhishek Sharma and Honey Khajuria, according to SHO Billawar Amit Sangra. Kahjuria is the brother-in-law of Sharma and is posted as a medical assistant at Nashedi near Billawar. The latter is a student of a private para Medical College in Kathua.
Sources said Abhishek asked his brother-in-law’s help to settle a dispute between him and his neighbour Ali. CCTV footage from the area showed the accused arriving in a Maruti Swift car. On spotting the accused, the victim, who was standing outside a shop, fled from the spot. As the accused gave chase, a few people from the locality including women were seen rushing behind them. However, before anybody could come to the rescue of the deceased, the accused stabbed him and fled. Their car has been seized.
The murder has led to tension in an area which is already divided over the rape and death of a minor girl. Mobile internet services have been suspended in the area as a precautionary measure. Billawar is predominantly a Hindu inhabited area, but Muslims constitute 25 per cent of the population. Accusing the J&K crime branch of framing “innocent people” in the rape and murder case, villagers from various villages from Kathua have formed a Hindu Ekta Manch and have been demanding the case to be transferred to the CBI.