New Delhi: Barely a week after a man from Bandipora was allegedly killed in police custody, the body of a 23-year-old man from Kulgam district, who was reportedly detained by the army last week, was recovered from the Vishaw River in south Kashmir on Sunday (May 4).The ruling National Conference (NC) has demanded a judicial probe into the death of the youngster identified as Imtiyaz Ahmad Magray, a resident of Tangmarg in the Damhal Hanjipora (DH Pora) area of Kulgam district, who was reportedly picked up in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.The army hasn’t officially reacted to the allegations as of the time of the publication of this report.However, a statement purportedly issued by the army, which circulated in a WhatsApp group of local reporters in Kulgam district, said that the victim died by suicide after jumping into the river near the Aharbal health resort of south Kashmir while leading a party of security forces to an alleged hideout of militants.A 38-second video of the alleged suicide was also leaked on X, showing Magray taking a few cautious steps towards the edge of the river, before running and jumping into the river, whose strong currents swept him away.The Wire can’t independently verify the authenticity of the video, which was shot by a drone.Senior NC leader and Jammu and Kashmir minister Sakina Itoo, who visited the family on Sunday evening, said that Magray was detained last week.“This morning, the family got a call that a dead body had been recovered from the river, which later turned out to be of Imtiyaz. It is a painful incident and a collective tragedy for all of us. We stand with the family in this hour of grief,” Itoo, who represents DH Pora in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, said.According to the statement cited above, the army has admitted that Magray was in their custody and that he had “confessed about knowledge of [a] hideout [of militants] with [the] presence of two Pakistan terrorists”.However, the video leaked on X doesn’t show any other human activity except that of Magray.The statement said that a search operation was launched on Sunday morning in Aharbal. As Magray moved towards the suspected hideout, he jumped into the river allegedly to escape, the statement said.“It is also learnt that he was aware of the first terrorist hideout that was busted by security forces in the Tangmarg forest, where contact was established on April 23. Today while locating the second terrorist hideout, he jumped into the river and died by suicide,” the statement said, adding that medico-legal proceedings have been started into the incident.During her meeting with the bereaved family, Itoo alleged foul-play in Magray’s death and assured the locals that his family will get justice.“We are already dead, let them kill us again,” a man shouted at Itoo as she tried to comfort Nazir Ahmad Magray, the victim’s inconsolable father who was shedding silent tears.The slain worked as a daily-wage worker and is believed to have returned home last month.Itoo said that Magray belonged to a poor family who lived in a two-room structure. “The incident has terrified locals in the area. The truth should come out and facts should be sifted from falsehoods. He is not involved in any incident. Without proof, torturing or harassing innocent people is not right,” Itoo said.Condemning the incident, Peoples’ Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti said that the incident has raised “serious allegations of foul play” and “deeply troubling” questions, and demand a “thorough impartial investigation”.Quoting locals, Mufti said that Magray was detained by the army “two days ago”.“The recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam appears to be a calculated attempt to derail the fragile peace, disrupt tourism in Kashmir and undermine communal harmony across the country. If a single act of violence can shake the entire system – triggering arbitrary arrests, home demolitions and the targeting of innocent civilians then the perpetrators have already achieved their objective,” she said on X.The army is facing fresh allegations of custodial torture days after a family from Bandipora claimed that their sole breadwinner was allegedly detained by police and killed in custody on April 25.The police have, however, said that the victim, Altaf Hussain Lali, the father of four young children, was an associate of militants who died in an encounter.Mufti had demanded a probe into the incident.Earlier, the bodies of three tribal Gujjar youth from Chandian-Pajan and Pratapora villages, who had gone to attend a marriage function in Kulgam on February 13, were recovered from the Vishaw River last month around a month after their disappearance.The bereaved families had alleged that the bodies of the victims bore signs of torture and demanded a judicial probe. However, officials initially ruled out foul play into the deaths, even as the autopsy reports of the victims are awaited.The Wire first reported on November 21 last year that four civilians of Kwath village in Kishtwar district of the Chenab valley were tortured in custody by the army against the backdrop of the killing of a special forces’ junior commissioned officer in a militant attack in the adjoining Chas area on November 10.In 2023, three civilians were killed in army custody in Poonch district while several others escaped with injuries after they were picked up for questioning in connection with a militant attack in which four soldiers were killed and five others were injured.