NEW DELHI, Aug 9: Militants shot dead a village sarpanch affiliated to the BJP, and his wife, who was also a member of the village panchayat, in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Monday afternoon.
Officials said Ghulam Rasool from Kulgam’s Redwani Bala, and his wife, Jawhara Banoo were fired upon by militants inside their rented accommodation in Lal Chowk area in Anantnag.
Militants barged into the rented accommodation of Ghulam Rasool Dar and shot at them from close range. The couple was later rushed to government medical college in Anantnag where doctors declared them brought dead.
Sixty-five-year-old Dar was also the Kulgam district president of BJP Kisan Morcha.
“They were staying in a secure hotel accommodation until recently and were allowed to stay at their house on their request,” said IGP Vijay Kumar. The police suspect that the Lashker-e-Toiba was behind the attack.
The killing comes a day after Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said there would be no mercy for militants and their supporters, as he hinted at stepped up operations against them in the wake of the killing of a policeman in Kulgam on Saturday.
The BJP’s J&K spokesperson Altaf Thakur condemned the killings and said, “He (Dar) was without security and lived in a rented accommodation. Like Dar, there are many BJP leaders who have no security.”
Sinha termed the killings an act of cowardice. “I strongly condemn the brutal terrorist attack on the Sarpanch Ghulam Rasool Dar and his wife Jawhara Banoo of Redwani Bala, Kulgam. This is an act of cowardice & perpetrators of violence will be brought to justice very soon. My deepest condolences to bereaved family in this time of grief,” tweeted Sinha.
Former J&K chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the killings. “Extremely sorry to hear that BJP District President and his wife have been shot dead by militants today. My condolences to their families and loved ones,” she tweeted.
Former chief minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah tweeted, “I unequivocally condemn the assassination of Ghulam Rasool Dar and his wife. They join a long list of mainstream politicians killed for their political beliefs. My condolences to his family and colleagues. May Allah grant the departed place in Jannat.”
(Manas Dasgupta)