A quadruple murder case was solved by the Ladakh Police 26 years after the crime with the arrest of all three persons from the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Senior Superintendent of Police Shree Raam said Mohd Ali, Haji Anayat Ali of Kargil and their assistants Shero Ali and Nazir Ahmad of Kathua had gone to the higher reaches of Warwan in J&K's Kishtwar district to purchase livestock in August 1998 but did not return to their homes.

He said a case was registered and three nomads -- Mohd Rafeeq, Mohd Fareed of Kathua and Abdul Aziz of Samba -- were apprehended from Jammu on April 25, 1999 for questioning.

However, all of them were released on bail due to a lack of evidence. And with not much progress in the case, it was closed as untraced in 2007.

Four years later, on September 9, 2011, skeletal remains were found near the Kanital Glacier in the Warwan area and their DNA testing confirmed they belonged to Nazir Ahmad and Shero Ali, the officer said.

This discovery reignited the case, and in 2012, a court ordered its reopening.

Additional evidence and new witness statements allowed for the inclusion of murder and robbery charges under sections 302 and 382 Ranbir Panel Code, the officer said.

A hunt was launched for Rafeeq, Fareed and Aziz but locating them presented significant challenges, as they led nomadic lives.

However, after extensive efforts involving credible sources and mobile tracking, police finally managed to arrest the three suspects from the Hira Nagar area of Kathua earlier this week, and took them under a seven-day remand, the SSP said.

During interrogation, he said, the suspects confessed and guided the police team led by Station House Officer Manzoor Hussain through the rugged terrain to the crime scene.

With the presence of an executive magistrate and a medical team, the police trekked for four days in difficult conditions to recover key evidence including some human bones, passbook and the identity card of one of the victims.

"A strong 25-member team visited the scene of crime, considering the high altitude area, militancy and the onset of the winter," he said.

Quoting the confession of the arrested accused, the SSP said the victims were carrying over 2.4 lakhs and so the main motive behind the murder was robbery.

"Initially, Fareed and Nazir had an argument and Nazir was killed and later two other accused joined Fareed to murder three others… the bodies of two of the victims were thrown into a stream before the accused fled," Raam said.

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