A BJP councillor was shot useless and a lady injured in an assault by militants on Wednesday evening in South Kashmir’s Tral.
Rakesh Pandita, who was the chairman of the Tral Municipal Committee, stayed at a authorities lodging beneath safety in Srinagar resulting from militant menace, and had been assigned two Personal Security Officers (PSOs). Police mentioned Pandita had left his safety officers behind on his go to to Tral, a militant stronghold and his hometown.
Police mentioned three unidentified terrorists opened hearth at Pandita, killing him on the spot. The injured lady was the daughter of a good friend whom he had gone to go to. “He succumbed to injuries whereas the woman is seriously wounded,” a police assertion mentioned.
It is the third killing of a councillor in Kashmir this yr. On March 30, militants had stormed the workplace of the Sopore Municipal Council and killed two councillors, additionally belonging to the BJP, and a policeman.
The police, Army and paramilitary forces have cordoned off the realm and are trying to find the attackers.
The BJP mentioned the killed councillor, a Kashmiri Pandit, was the get together’s district secretary for Tral. “It was a barbaric attack. Killing unarmed people is no bravery and police must track down the culprits and punish them,” get together spokesperson Altaf Thakur mentioned, including, “Such attacks won’t stop BJP leaders from serving the people.”
Condemning the assault, Lt General Manoj Sinha tweeted, “Terrorists will never succeed in their nefarious designs, and those responsible for such heinous acts shall be brought to justice.”
Other events too condemned the killing. “These senseless acts of violence have brought only misery to J&K,” former Chief Minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti posted, providing her condolences to Pandita’s household.
People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone tweeted: “This gun is a curse. Just ponder. Since the day this menace came into Kashmir. What have we seen. In a nut shell total disempowerment of the Kashmiri. Dear gunmen. Can u please go back where u came from. We have had enough.”
Elections for municipal councillors had been held in October 2018, instantly after J&Okay was put beneath then Governor’s rule. The two main mainstream political events, the National Conference and PDP, had boycotted the polls.
Militants have additionally focused elected panchs and sarpanchs, particularly in South Kashmir.
