An unverified militant audio has claimed that a slain soldier’s body would not be returned to his family in view of pandemic protocol and pointed out that the security forces cite the same reason while dealing with bodies of killed insurgents.

If true, this will be the first such tit-for-tat action by militants for the security forces’ refusal to return bodies of insurgents killed in encounters to their families citing Covid-management measures that prohibit large gatherings. Funerals of slain militants attract large crowds in the Valley and many believe the security forces are using the pandemic as a ruse to prevent the galvanisation of public sentiments and pro-azadi protests.

Police said they were investigating the authenticity of the audio, which surfaced on social media on Sunday, but clarified there was no confirmation that the soldier had been killed.

Shakir Manzoor, a resident of Reshipora village in Shopian and a soldier in the Territorial Army, was reportedly abducted by militants on August 2. He had been dragged out of his car, which was torched, and taken away.

The soldier’s father, Manzoor Ahmad, had in a passionate video appeal on Friday urged militants to forgive and release his son but said he would have no complaints if they had killed him, seeking only the return of the body in that case.

The speaker in the audio doing the rounds on Sunday identifies himself as Abu Talhah but does not name any militant group.

Claiming that Shakir has been killed, the man says in Urdu: “We understand the pain of the soldier’s parents and his family but his body was not returned to his family due to the coronavirus and to avoid crowding at his funeral. It is similar to what the army is doing. They do not return the bodies of the Mujahideen (as militants are usually called in Kashmir) and bury them at unknown places.”

The man in the audio claims that they have performed the last rites of the soldier. While justifying the killing, the speaker also claims that Kashmiris working in the security forces are not mending their ways.

The audio specifically mentions two slain Hizbul Mujahideen operational commanders, Burhan Wani and Riyaz Naikoo, and says they too had warned those helping the Indian forces.