Srinagar : Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz from 2 RAJRIF (Rajputana Rifles) whose body was found with two bullets marks in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday morning, would have turned 23 on June 8.
After passing out from the NDA in November 2015, Fayaz completed one year of training at IMA, Dehradun, and was commissioned into the 2 Rajputana Rifles regiment of the Army on December 10 last year. “He did three years with the NDA, one year with IMA, and then joined one of the best regiments,” Lt Gen Krishna said.
Posted in Jammu and Kashmir’s Akhnoor sector, the officer was trained at the National Defence Academy near Pune and the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun. He got commissioned on December 10, 2016 from the National Defence Academy and was set to head for the Young Officers Course in September this year.
“I can’t believe my son is not alive,’’ he says. “I have only one son,” he says, and almost immediately, corrects himself: “I had only one son. Now it is his mother and two sisters,” said Fayaz Ahmad Parray, Umar’s father.
“Umar cleared the Class XII examination in 2012, he wanted to take the NDA (National Defence Academy) entrance examination. I am a farmer. I am illiterate. He told me he wants to become an officer and I said OK,’’ he said. “I didn’t know it would cost him his life,” recalled Parray.
“Umar was staying at Anantnag where his cousins had a rented accommodation. He hadn’t come home. He came straight to our place from Anantnag. He reached our place in the afternoon. Everything was fine. He was sitting with the bride upstairs when three men wearing pherans came in. It was around 8 pm. They headed upstairs and asked for him. The moment he identified himself, they took him.” “We tried to stop them but they pulled him. There were many others waiting for them outside, on the road,’’ said Umar’s uncle maternal uncle Mohammad Maqbool, whose daughter was getting married last night.
“He was part of the Hockey Team of NDA, excellent volleyball player. He was physically tough and the troops enjoyed being with him,” the Army said.
“Loss of the young officers is immense. There is only handful of officers from Kashmir valley. Only 5 months into his career, he was very well liked and bright officer,” said another officer.
“This is dastardly attack of cowardice. Unknown gunmen picked up Lt Ummer Fayaz and killed him. We salute the martyr and stand by his family. We will get to the perpetrators and answer them in same language,” said Colonel Manu Sooden of CO 62 RR (DOGRA).
The young Indian Army officer was cremated with full honours in Sursun in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir.
His mortal remains underwent postmortem at the District Hospital in Shopian and was subsequently brought to Sursun for burial with full military honors.
“We didn’t know at all. We got to know about this only after his body was recovered this morning,’’ Patel said. “His body was recovered close to where (the cavalcade of ) SP Headquarters, Shopian, was fired at by the militants last night. They must have killed him around that time.” Army personnel, led by the Commandant of the 62 Rashtriya Rifles, placed a Tricolour on the young officer’s body and fired in the air before it was lowered in the grave. His father stood with two relatives, watching the Army officers and men paying floral tributes to his son.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday condemned the abduction and murder of Army officer Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz by terrorists in Shopian district. “What was more painful to note is that the young officer had come home on vacation where he was attending the marriage of his cousin,” the Chief Minister said in a statement.
Earlier, Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley condemned the killing of the Army officer and dubbed it a ‘dastardly act of cowardice.’ Taking to Twitter Jaitley said, “Abduction & murder of Lt. Ummer Fayaz by terrorists in Shopian is a dastardly act of cowardice. This young officer from J&K was a role mode.
Lt. Ummer Fayaz of 2RAJRIF was an exceptional sportsman, his sacrifice reiterates nation's commitment to eliminate terrorism from the Valley
— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) May 10, 2017
“They killed a young and promising boy who was on leave to attend the wedding of his cousin and was unarmed. How does killing a young local boy square with the alleged freedom struggle they claim to be waging? This only proves once again that they are just a bunch of criminals.” Lt. Gen Krishna said.