Jammu Kashmir: Multi-Agency Search Intensified for Man Feared Drowned After Alleged Assault Over Cattle Transport | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Authorities on Tuesday stepped up a multi-agency search operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district for a 25-year-old man who is feared to have fallen into a fast-flowing stream after allegedly being assaulted over transporting cattle in his vehicle.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted and four persons have been arrested in connection with the incident, which triggered widespread protests and tension along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. On Monday, agitating locals, including members of the victim’s family, blocked the highway for over four hours.

The missing person, identified as Tanveer Ahmad Chopan, a resident of Mundkhal Pogal in Ukhral tehsil, was travelling from Jammu to his native village in a Tata Mobile vehicle carrying a milch cow and two calves when he was allegedly chased and assaulted by suspected cow vigilantes on Sunday, according to local accounts.

Eyewitnesses said Chopan jumped into the nearby Nallah Bishlari in an attempt to escape.

After a brief overnight pause, search and rescue operations resumed on Tuesday morning, with teams from the police, SDRF, NDRF, and local volunteers combing the area. Officials said efforts are focused on difficult terrain and rocky stretches, including downstream sections, amid fears that the body may be trapped under large boulders in the stream.