The spate of civilian killings in the Kashmir valley continue as two non-natives were gunned down by terrorists on Saturday, 16 October.
After killing a non-local street vendor from Bihar in Jammu and Kashmir's capital city Srinagar on Saturday, terrorists shot dead another non-local carpenter from Uttar Pradesh in Pulwama district.
The attacks come barely hours after IGP Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, assured that the "militants responsible for these (civilian) killings" have been identified. He had said while two of them have been killed, they were close to "neutralising" the others. The IGP Kashmir had also denied any security lapse on their part, adding that police cannot be expected to provide security to everyone.
Police sources told IANS that terrorists fired at a non-local carpenter, identified as Sageer Ahmad from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh in Litter village of Pulwama district.
"He was shifted to hospital for treatment where he succumbed to injuries," sources said adding that security forces have reached the spot to trace the militants.
Earlier on Saturday evening, terrorists shot dead a non-local street vendor, Arvind Kumar Sah from Bihar near the Eidgah park in Srinagar. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the family of Sah.
Terrorists had shot and killed a school principal and a teacher inside a government higher secondary school in the same area on 7 October.
Two days before that incident, a pharmacy owner ML Bindroo, a Bihari street vendor, and a taxi driver were killed by terrorists in a series of attacks on civilians.
Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said the recent killings are aimed at damaging communal harmony in the valley, amid reports of another 'exodus of Kashmiri Pandits' reviving fear of a repeat of the 1990s when Kashmiri Pandits left the valley after members of the community were killed by militants, as per The Indian Express.
After the school shootout, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a security review meeting and top R&AW, NIA and Intelligence Bureau officers have been stationed in the Valley since to oversee operations to trace the terrorists behind the killings, reported The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah lamented the killing of innocent people and said:
"The killing of innocent people is unfortunate. It is a conspiracy to defame Kashmiris."
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