MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) authorities handed over the bodies of a young man and woman to their counterparts from India-held Jammu and Kashmir at Kaman Bridge in the Chakothi-Uri sector on Saturday.

The deceased — 23-year-old Yasir Hussain and 20-year-old Asia Bano — had reportedly jumped into the Jhelum River on March 5 in Uri after their families allegedly opposed their plans to marry.

Bano’s body was later recovered from the river in Lower Chattar, a neighborhood of Muzaffarabad, while Hussain’s body was found along the Jhelum River bank in Chinari, about 12 kilometers from the Chakothi-Uri crossing point. Photographs shared by police showed Hussain’s body entangled in ropes. It later emerged that his body had initially been spotted near Kaman Bridge on India held side on Thursday afternoon.

Rescue teams and police had attempted to retrieve it using ropes but were unsuccessful due to strong river currents. The body eventually drifted to the AJK side, where Chinari police recovered it from the riverbank.

After completing procedural formalities, Hattian Bala’s Assistant Commissioner Kamran Khan and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Raja Ilyas formally handed over the coffins to Indian authorities between 11:50am and 12:30pm, in the presence of military officials from both sides.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2025