New Delhi- Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to hold discussions with Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha Saturday on the security situation in the union territory in the wake of recent targeted killings including those of Hindus and Sikhs.
The home minister and the LG are expected to make a detailed review of the prevailing law and order situation and how to check escalating militant attacks in the Kashmir valley, the sources said.
Top officials of the Union Home Ministry, intelligence agencies and the Jammu and Kashmir administration are expected to attend the meeting.
At a high level meeting Thursday, Shah was briefed about the latest modus operandi of the militants in carrying out attacks on soft targets and the steps taken to tighten the security, the sources said.
Shah has directed the officials to ensure that those involved in the killings are nabbed such incidents do not recur.
The Central government has already dispatched a top official of the Intelligence Bureau to Srinagar to coordinate operations against militants.
A female principal and a teacher were shot dead at point blank range on Thursday. Of the seven killed in last five days, four were from minority communities and six of the deaths took place in Srinagar.
Supinder Kaur, the principal of the Government Boys Higher Secondary School at Eidgah in Srinagar, and Deepak Chand, were gunned down around 11.15 am at the school premises.
There were no students in school at the time of the incident.
Makhan Lal Bindroo, a prominent Kashmiri Pandit and owner of Srinagar’s most famous pharmacy, was shot dead at his shop on Tuesday.
A ‘chaat’ vendor, Virendra Paswan from Bihar, and another civilian, Mohammad Shafi Lone, were also killed on Tuesday in Srinagar and in Bandipora respectively .
On Saturday, militants shot dead Majid Ahmad Gojri in Srinagar and Mohammad Shafi Dar at Batmaloo.
According to official statistics, a total 28 civilians were killed by militants so far in 2021.
Out of the 28 killed, five persons belong to local Hindu or Sikh communities and two non-local Hindu labourers.
Officials said due to the killings of a large numbers of militant of all outfits specially their leaderships and the destruction of their support systems, militants’ Pakistan-based handlers have got frustrated and changed their strategy and started targeting unarmed policemen, innocent civilians, politicians and innocent civilians from minority communities.
In all such cases, militants have been using pistols which they can carry easily, the officials said.
Most of these acts are committed by newly recruited militants or those who are about to join their ranks, they said.
According to the official data, till date, 97 militant attacks have been reported in Jammu and Kashmir this year so far –71 on security forces and 26 on civilians.
In 2020, a total of 105 attacks were reported –80 on security forces and 25 on civilians.
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