SALEEM ZARGER was young and energetic. He wanted to become a leading contractor in Doda district. At 25, he had a number of government contracts in hand. But things took a different turn after he went missing.

Relatives still remember the day he was dragged out of his house from Masjid Chowk in Doda. It was 1995, July 25, when his house was raided by "men in veils".

"We were having dinner, when Army men knocked on our door," said Abdul Qayoom, his cousin. "Zarger welcomed them and offered them tea and apples," he said.

According to Qayoom, soon after the Army left, a group of veiled men visited their house. "They were looking for Zarger and wanted him to guide them to the neighboring village," he said. The family believes the men in veil were the same Army men who had tea with them earlier.

However, Zarger's father, Ghulam Mohammad, offered to show them the way. "But the men in veils dragged Zarger out of the house," Qayoom said, an instructor at Training Institute Doda. That was last time when the family saw him alive.

The next morning, the family approached the nearest police station and registered a case against the Army. However, the Army denied its men were involved in the arrest. "We visited all the jails in Jammu and neighboring states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajashtan. But couldn't find him," he said.

Family members, however believe, that the only reason behind Zarger's disappearance could be his two distant relatives who were militants. "It is true. Two of his relatives were militants. But, he (Zarger) had no contacts with them," he said. "My cousin wanted to become a leading contractor of Doda. And he worked hard to fulfill his dreams."

... contd.