It was the evening of October 14.

Bashir Ahmed, 55, a Special Police Officer (SPO) in Jammu and Kashmir, set out from his house in Trigam village, in the militancy-prone Kishtwar district, carrying his rifle. He was headed to his post in the forests, barely 800 metres from his home.

It was a 12-hour night shift, and he usually returned home between 6 am and 6.30 am the next day.

But on October 15, Bashir did not return. His wife Parveena, 50, and daughter Dilshada, 15, grew anxious. By 8.30 am, with no sign of him, they knocked on the door of his cousin, Ghulam Rasool, who lived nearby.

The family rushed to Bashir’s post, only to learn that he had left for home at his usual time. For the next 24 hours, there was no answer. First, the Police investigators suspected that militants may have abducted him.

The breakthrough, however, came the following day. Tracing signals from his mobile phone, police found Bashir — he was buried in a pit.

And this was no case of kidnapping.…