Militants shot dead a leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in south Kashmir's Kulgam district on Tuesday, the second such incident in a week.
Police said militants fired upon Javid Ahmad Dar, BJP's constituency in-charge in the district, outside his residence in Brazloo Jagir, Kulgam, 70 kms from here. He was immediately shifted to the nearest hospital, however, doctors declared him brought dead.
Reports said following the killing, police and army rushed to the spot to nab the assailants. The BJP termed the killing of Dar as “barbaric”. Other political parties also strongly condemned the incident.
This was the second killing of a BJP leader in Kashmir this month. On August 9, militants had barged into the rented accommodation of Ghulam Rasool Dar and his wife Jawhara Banoo in neighboring Anantnag district, and shot at them from a close range. 65-year-old Dar was the Kulgam district president of BJP Kisan Morcha and a sarpanch. His wife was also a panch from the same village.
More than 40 political activists, including panchayat members and grassroots workers, mostly affiliated with the BJP have been killed by militants in Kashmir since the abrogation of special status of the erstwhile state under Article 370 in August 2019.
Kashmir reportedly has at least 7.5 lakh BJP workers on the ground and all of them do not have security. But it is not only the BJP workers, who have been targeted by the militants from south to north Kashmir. Militants have also targeted elected panchs and sarpanchs belonging to other political parties.
The latest spate of political killings has returned to haunt the Valley at a time when the violence was apparently on decline.