Pahalgam killings: Pulled-down, unzipped pants of victims point to barbaric, medieval "test" done by terrorists

During the investigation into the horrific Pahalgam attack, officials discovered that the trousers of approximately 20 male victims were pulled down or unzipped. This unsettling detail is being interpreted as evidence that the terrorists first sought to confirm the victims' religious identities before executing them, The Times of India reported on April 26.

A team of Army personnel, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) police, and J&K administrative officials was horrified to find that the lower garments of 20 out of the 26 victims had been forcibly displaced, revealing their underwear or private parts, the report (by Bharti Jain) said.

The relatives of the deceased were likely in such profound shock that they did not observe the condition of the clothing on the bodies, and the recovery team simply covered the bodies with shrouds without further examination. It was only during a detailed inspection conducted by the officials — who were possibly gathering information to include in the First Information Report (FIR) — that the disturbing indicators of the terrorists’ actions came to light.

The examination revealed that the male victims were subjected to a brutal "test" — an archaic method of verifying their faith, which involved having their trousers undone to ascertain their religious beliefs. Eyewitness testimonies corroborate that the terrorists checked each victim's religious identity by demanding identification, such as Aadhaar cards or driving licenses, instructing them to recite the kalma (a Muslim prayer), and forcing them to remove their lower garments for inspection of circumcision.

Once the attackers confirmed the Hindu identities of the victims through these three 'tests', they executed them at close range. Out of the 26 individuals killed in the attack on Tuesday, 25 were Hindus, all of them male.

As the investigation into this tragic incident picks up pace, nearly 70 overground workers (OGWs) and known sympathisers of terrorism from areas including Tral, Pulwama, Anantnag, and Kulgam are reportedly being interrogated by a combined team of J&K police, the Intelligence Bureau, and RAW officials.

"Initially, the investigation team detained around 1,500 OGWs to assess their potential involvement in the attack. This number has been narrowed down to 70 OGWs who are strongly suspected of providing logistical support to the assailants involved in the Pahalgam attack. We are optimistic about further refining our search to identify the true perpetrators soon," ToI's report quoted an officer from the J&K administration as saying.