Two more non-locals were shot dead in Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists, police said, taking the toll in the recent spate of civilian killings in the valley over the past two weeks to 11.
Raja Reshi Dev and Jogindar Reshi Dev from Bihar died on the spot after gunmen opened fire at them in Wanpoh area of Kulgam district on Sunday. Another Bihar resident Chun Chun Reshi was injured in the firing and has been shifted to a hospital in the neighbouring Anantnag district for treatment.
Two non-locals were shot dead in Kashmir on Saturday. Arvind Kumar, a resident of Bihar, died on the spot after he was shot at outside a park in Eidgah area of Srinagar, while Saghir Ahmad from Uttar Pradesh succumbed to injuries after militants fired at and critically injured him in Pulwama district.
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A total of 11 civilians, including four from minority communities, have been killed in Kashmir over the past two weeks.
Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, said on Saturday dismissed criticism that terrorists were carrying out the killings as a result of lapses in security.
He said because the terrorists were choosing soft targets, it is not possible to provide security to the civilians killed in Kashmir.
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He said security forces had acted swiftly and identified all five terrorists involved in the killings.
“Two of them have been neutralised and the other three will also be tracked down soon,” he added, referring to the gunfights in the Pulwama and Srinagar on Friday.
The targeted civilian killings have caused panic among minority communities and prompted government employees, who had returned under the Prime Minister’s special employment scheme for Kashmiri migrants, to flee their accommodations.
National Conference president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah Sunday said the attacks on non-locals were being carried out under a conspiracy to defame Kashmiris.
