50 youths from rifleman Aurangzeb's village leave jobs in Gulf, return home to avenge their friend's death

Nearly 50 youths left their lucrative jobs in the Gulf to return to Salani village in Mendhar, the hometown of rifleman Aurangzeb who was killed by terrorists in south Kashmir in June, to avenge the death of their friend.

Indian Army jawan Aurangzeb was abducted and killed by terrorists in Pulwama on June 14 when he was on his way home in Rajouri district for Eid celebrations. Aurangzeb, who belonged to 4 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry and was posted at the 44 Rashtriya Rifles camp at Shadimarg in Shopian, was found dead by a team of police and Army at Gussu village, about 10 km away from Kalampora, in Pulwama district. He was shot in his head and neck, police said.

After his death, Aurangzeb's family had made an emotional appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Army and the Jammu and Kashmir government to eliminate militancy from the state and avenge his death.

After one and half months of his death, the family is joined by 50 more villagers who have left their jobs in Saudi Arabia to return home to join police and army to avenge the death of Rifleman Aurangzeb, an NDTV report said. 

Mohammad Kiramat, who is among the 50 people, said the only mission of their return is to avenge the death of Aurangzeb.

"When we heard about the killing of brother Aurangzeb, we left Saudi Arabia the same day, and forcibly got ourselves relieved from the job. It can't be done on the spot, but we managed somehow. 50 youth from this village returned with me," Kiramat said. 

While Aurangzeb's brother is a serving army man, his father Mohammad Hanief is a former Sepoy of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry.

24-year-old Aurangzeb's abduction and killing in June had sent shock waves in Jammu and Kashmir.

The rifleman of 44 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) was abducted when terrorists intercepted a private car at Kalampora village in the Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district. The gunmen took Aurangzeb along with them, while the driver was released without any harm. Later, Aurangzeb’s bullet-riddled body was recovered from a nearby village.

A day after the killing, the terrorists released a 1.15-minute video in which they are heard questioning the Aurangzeb about the encounters. “Yes I am a rifleman and my duty was on the post,” Aurangzeb was seen replying to an abductor's question, who was not visible in the video.