Shopkeeper shot dead in Kashmir’s Tral

Unidentified militants shot dead a shopkeeper in volatile Tral town of south Kashmir’ Pulwama district on Wednesday.

Sources said Mehraj-ud-Din Zarger, a shopkeeper dealing in readymade garments was sitting outside his shop near Old Bus Stand, Tral, 36 kms from here, when pistol borne masked men shot at him from point-blank range at around 3 p.m.

Zarger was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. A police official while confirming the killing said the slain hailed from Tral town.

Reports said the killing created panic in the town which has remained in news in recent years due to Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, who was killed in an encounter with security forces on 8 July 2016.

In recent weeks, militants have started targeting civilians and hurling grenades at crowded places to impose shutdown in the Valley. Last Monday one civilian died while over 40 were injured when militants threw a grenade in a crowded market near city center Lal Chowk in Srinagar.

Prior to that non-local laborers, truck drivers and fruit traders were targeted by the militants in south Kashmir. The Valley witnessed spontaneous shutdown after the Center abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two union territories on August 5. However, in recent weeks the impact of the shutdown is waning as more and more people are resuming their normal activities across Kashmir.