Varun Singh, 15, was found in Ishu Nullah in the remote Mahal region on Saturday, with his uncles Yogesh Singh, 32, and Darshan Singh, 40.
The minister said the killing was a very concerning issue.
“The brutal killing of three terrorists in the Bani area of Katua is very sad and a very concern. There seems to be a deep conspiracy behind the destruction of the atmosphere of this quiet area,” said the minister representing the Udangpur Provincial Parliamentary Constituency, covering Kathua.
“We have discussed this with the officials concerned. The Union Home Secretary himself is reaching the verdict so that the situation can be evaluated on the spot. I am confident that this incident will not happen again and that the people are still very confident.”
Officials said union home secretary Govind Mohan reviewed the security situation at a meeting here. JK Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary begged the murder and said: “Additional crime is a concern.” He also expressed concern about the “life-threatening” attack by Bani MLA Rameshwar Singh, who was beaten by a group of protesters who went to meet with the family of the deceased late Saturday at a local hospital in Billawar.
The MLA’s security guards had to intervene and escort him.
Singh responded to his orgy at the hospital in Katua, which he said was an attempt to remove the atmosphere.
He told PTI: “I want to tell people who attacked me and didn’t remove the atmosphere. Since the day they (three people) disappeared, I have been raising their voices for them and keeping in touch with the police.”
MLA said he was attacked because he also raised the question of Makhan Din, a 25-year-old Gujjar youth from Billawar, who ended his life last month by taking pesticides, accusing police of torture of alleged ties to terrorists.
He said: “Speak for Muslims? Shouldn’t we raise our voices for Muslims? Someone has become terrorists with their voices for Muslims.”
He said he would not be thwarted and would “continue to raise my voice for the victims regardless of his religious belief.”
Work shutdowns were observed in Bilawal and adjacent areas on Sunday in protest of the killing of three civilians.
“This is an obvious case where terrorists targeted killing, swallowing up peaceful areas of fear and anger… We hope that the government can strengthen counter-terrorism operations in the forest to neutralize terrorists hidden in the forests over the past year,” local BJP leader Gopal Krishan ruled a group of protesters at Phinter Chowk, he said.
He said the people would not allow terrorists to succeed in design and to hurt public harmony by conducting selective murders.
Billawar MLA Satish Sharma, a senior BJP leader and Billawar MLA who visited the late family, said it was too early to say who killed three civilians.
“It’s a question of investigation because no one sees how they were killed.
Congress requested a high-level investigation to clear local people’s worries and overcome the current “great fear” and overall belt insecurity.
