Two non-locals shot dead in Kashmir

Militants shot and killed two non-locals in Srinagar and Pulwama districts on Saturday, police said.

“Terrorists shot at Arvind Kumar Sah (30), a resident of the Banka area of Bihar, outside a park in Eidgah in Srinagar in the evening,” a police official said.

He said Kumar died on the spot.

In a separate incident in Pulwama district, militants shot and badly injured Saghir Ahmad, a carpenter from Uttar Pradesh, the officer added.

Ahmad died in a hospital as a result of his injuries, he said.

Today’s attacks come 11 days after a non-local trader, Virendra Paswan, was shot and killed in Srinagar, just days after Kashmiri Pandit chemist M L Bindroo was killed at his shop near Iqbal Park. In Bandipora, north Kashmir, a cab driver was also killed that evening.

The deaths occurred on the same day that police claimed to have killed three militants in less than 24 hours, alleging that they were engaged in the killings of minority community members last week.

J&K LG Manoj Sinha tweeted: “I strongly condemn the brutal killings of Arvind Kumar Shah and Sagir Ahmad by terrorists. My heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones. UT Govt 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 and join hands in the fight against terror.”

Omar Abdullah, the former chief minister and leader of the National Conference, condemned the killings.

“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 tweeted.

Omar also criticised the killing of another non-local, Sageer Ahmad, in Pulwama, in another tweet.

“His death in today’s second terror incident is a terrible reminder of Kashmir’s vulnerable security situation,” Omar tweeted.

Sajad Gani Lone, the head of the People’s Conference, described the attacks as cowardly.

“This is pure terror. Yet again a non-local vendor shot and killed in Idgah. What a shame. How cowardly can it get,” Lone tweeted.

Peoples Conference also condemned the killing of a non-local carpenter in Pulwama in a statement.

Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, the leader of the CPI (M), and Syed Altaf Bukhari, the president of the Apni Party, have both condemned the killing of two civilians.

Such barbaric acts, according to Tarigami, have no place in a civilised society.

The BJP also condemned the killings on Saturday. The killings of two non-locals, according to party spokesman Altaf Thakur, are “highly condemnable and shocking.”

He asked the police to apprehend the killers and severely punish them.