A 23-year-old man, who reportedly confessed to providing food and shelter to terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, was drowned to death after he allegedly jumped into a river while escaping from security forces.

The deceased person was identified as Imitiaz Ahmad Magray.

Video

A video has now gone viral where a man can be seen jumping into the rocky river after inspecting the area.

According to reports, the man seen in the video was identified as Magray.

He was reportedly detained by the police on suspicion of being a member of a Lashkar-e-Taiba sleeper cell.

“Magray had confessed about knowledge of the hideout with the presence of two Pakistan terrorists. This morning, when a cordon and search operation was launched, he went to the hideout spot (near the river bed) under close supervision via a videographed drone. Consequently, he jumped into Vishaw Nalla & probably tried to escape via river route,” a police officer told UNI.

Police said he committed suicide by jumping into the river.

“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,” he said.

Magray's family, however, rejected the police's version of his death and alleged that the authorities had committed a custodial killing.

Mufti reacts

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti reacted to the death of the 23-year-old and wrote on X: "Yet another body has been recovered from a river in Kulgam raising serious allegations of foul play. Local residents allege that Imtiyaz Magray was picked up by the army two days ago and now mysteriously his body has surfaced in the river."

"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.

The incident occurred just days after terrorists killed 26 people, mostly non-Muslim tourists, in Pahalgam.

The attack triggered widespread condemnation.

Security forces launched a massive anti-terror operation following the attack.