Ganderbal, Sep 24: Police on Wednesday confirmed that the death of a youth, initially suspected to have drowned in the Power Canal, Ganderbal, was in fact a planned murder carried out by his own friends.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ganderbal, Muhammad Khalil Poswal, addressed a press conference, stating that the deceased youth, identified as 22-year-old Ajaz Ahmed Rather, son of Ghulam Muhammad Rather of Sultan Colony Kangan, was strangulated before his body was dumped in the canal. The revelation came after hours of rescue efforts and an intensive investigation that followed the recovery of the body.

SSP said that Ajaz Ahmed had been playing cricket with two of his acquaintances, identified as Niyazul Haq and Moieen, when tensions and enmity between them escalated. “The two a

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