Army chief meets Rifleman Aurangzeb's family in Poonch distt

Chief of Army Staff Gen Bipin Rawat today met the parents and other family members of rifleman Aurangzeb, who was abducted and killed by terrorists last week in Pulwama district of south Kashmir.

Rawat along with senior Army officials went all the way to the remote Salani hamlet in the frontier Poonch district and conveyed to the family that forces stood with them in their hour of grief.

Aurangzeb, who belonged to the 44, Rashtriya Rifles, was on way home to celebrate Eid when terrorists abducted him.

Gen Rawat flew from New Delhi to Jammu, where he was received by Northern Command chief Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, officials told PTI. Accompanied by officials, Rawat flew to Poonch from Jammu technical airport and was received by commanders in the frontier district, they said.

Rawat met the family of the deceased soldier and spent over 30 minutes with the parents of Aurangzeb.

Earlier, Aurangzeb's family had made an emotional appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Army, besides the Jammu and Kashmir government, to eliminate militancy from the state and avenge the martyrdom of their kin.

"My son has laid down his life for the country. He was a brave soldier. I and my sons will also sacrifice (ourselves) for the nation. We want goons to be wiped out," Mohammad Hanief, Aurangzeb's father and a former Sepoy of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, had said.

"I give PM Modi 72 hours to avenge my son's death or else we are ready to take revenge on our own. Kashmir is ours. We must not let Kashmir burn. Instead, we must eliminate the goons who are destroying the Valley," Hanief had said.

In a video, widely seen on social media, an emotional Hanief can be seen asking why Pakistani flags were waved in Kashmir.

Rifleman Aurangzeb of 44, Rashtriya Rifles, was abducted and killed by terrorists in Pulwama district when he was on his way home to celebrate Eid on June 14. He was part of Major Rohit Shukla's team, which eliminated Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Sameer Tiger.

Aurangzeb had boarded a private vehicle for Shopian, from where he was supposed to go to Rajouri district. The terrorists intercepted the vehicle as it approached Kalampora and abducted the jawan. His bullet-riddled body was found by at Gussu village, about 10 km from Kalampora, in Pulwama district.