Srinagar: Suspected militants on Saturday shot dead two non-locals, including a street vendor in Eidgah area of the old City here and south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
30-year-old Arvind Kumar Sah was killed after being shot in the head from point blank range by suspected militants near Eidgah at around 6:30 pm Saturday, a police official said. Sah, a ‘goll gappa’ seller collapsed on the ground in a pool of blood.
A native of Banka in Bihar, Sah was removed to the SMHS hospital for treatment. However, the doctors there pronounced him dead on arrival.
“He was brought dead to the hospital. He had received a single bullet injury on his head,” Medical Superintendent SMHS, Kanwaljeet Singh told Kashmir Observer.
Soon after the shootout, a contingent of police and paramilitary men reached the spot and launched a search operation to nab the attackers, reports said.
The attack, reports said, also created panic in the area prompting the traders to down their shutters while passerby were seen running towards the safer places. The attack also caused disruption in the traffic.
Barely an hour after Eidgah shooting, suspected militants shot at and critically injured Saghir Ahmad, a carpenter hailing from Uttar Pradesh, in Pulwama district, the police official said. “He was rushed to District Hospital Pulwama for treatment where the doctors declared him as brought dead,” reports said.
The killings of non-locals came on a day when police claimed to have killed four militants in a span of 24 hours who it said were involved in last week’s targeted killings in Srinagar.
The attacks have also triggered a series of encounters between security forces and suspected militants. According to the police, 13 militants have been killed in the past one week.
“13 militants have been killed in nine encounters after civilian killings. We have killed three out of five terrorists in Srinagar in less than 24 hours,” Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said.
The police have claimed that four militants responsible for four civilian killings in Jammu and Kashmir in the first week of October have been killed in these nine encounters.
Killings Condemned
Meanwhile, the killings of the non-locals evoked strong condemnation from mainstream political parties.
Reacting to the attack, former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah said in a tweet, “Strongly condemn the killing of street vendor Arvind Kumar in a terror attack in Srinagar today. This is yet another case of a civilian being targeted like this.”
“All Arvind Kumar did was come to Srinagar in search of earning opportunities & it’s reprehensible that he was murdered,” Omar Abdullah added.
Former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said in a tweet, “An innocent civilian on his way home to his wife & kids, a non local street vendor eking out a living or troops in Poonch. None of these people deserved to die.”
“One wonders what will it take for GOI to realise that its policies have been a monumental failure in J&K & at what cost,” the PDP leader asked.
People’s Conference leader Sajad Lone tweeted, “This is pure terror. Yet again a non-local vendor was shot and killed in Idgah. What a shame. How cowardly can it get.”
Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari also termed the killing of non-local labourer S in Litter area of Pulwama as extremely reprehensible.
In a statement issued here, Bukhari said these heinous attacks call for an unconditional condemnation from both social and political forums in the valley.
“Kashmiriyat can never be tainted with the blood of innocent and those elements who covet to destroy the historical ethos of Jammu and Kashmir have undermined the strength of our cultural roots that are enshrined in a Sufi-Rishi tradition. The fringe lobby can never define the majority public sentiment,” he said.
Bukhari observed that such spineless attacks are a manifest display of the frustration and maniacal attitude of these nefarious forces which have utterly failed to break the unity of the people.
“They want another 90’s like exodus but that is not going to happen anymore.
The numerous delegations that went to exhibit their solidarity with the recently killed innocents have maddened our enemies and failed their plots. These attacks are only aimed to create a panicked environment in the valley but the people have firmly resolved to stand united against it,” he observed.
LG Vows To Punish Perpetrators
Meanwhile Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha condemned the killing of two non-locals and vowed that perpetrators of these heinous attacks will be punished soon.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, the LG strongly condemned the brutal killings of Arvind Kumar Shah and Sagir Ahmad by “terrorists”. He expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones and asserted that the Union Territory government stands in solidarity with the bereaved families in this hour of grief.
“Perpetrators of these heinous attacks will be punished soon. We have intensified our efforts to crush terrorists & their ecosystem. They will have to pay a very heavy price for killing innocent civilians. I urge people to speak in one voice & join hands in the fight against terror,” he wrote in another Tweet.
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