Circus performer shot dead by militants in J&K's Anantnag

The victim had gone to a nearby market to purchase milk when two motorcycle-borne youths fired three bullets at him from a close range at 8:30 pm

A circus performer was shot dead by militants in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Monday night.

Deepu, a resident of Udhampur in Jammu, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne youths from a close range at around 8:30 pm near Jagland Mandi in Anantnag town when he had gone to a market to purchase milk. According to the police, he was working at a private circus mela at an amusement park in Anantnag.

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A little known outfit, ‘Kashmir Freedom Fighter’, believed to be a shadow outfit of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, has reportedly claimed responsibility for the killing.

"Terrorists fired upon one civilian namely Deepu R/O Udhampur working at private circus mela at amusement park near Janglaat Mandi in #Anantnag. He was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries," the Kashmir Zone Police tweeted.

This was the second killing of a member of the minority community in Kashmir this year. Earlier, on February 26 a Kashmiri Pandit (Hindu) was shot dead by militants in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Sanjay Sharma who was working as an armed guard in the Achan area of Pulwama was shot dead when he was on his way to a market.