BJP leader shot dead in J&K, police say had not sought security

A BJP leader was shot dead by suspected terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district on Tuesday, police said.

Javid Ahmad Dar was the BJP's constituency president of Homeshalibugh constituency. However, police said that Dar had not sought any security cover from local police.

Police said that at about 4.30 p.m., Kulgam police received information about a terror crime incident in Brazloo Jageer area of the district where terrorists had fired on a civilian.

"Preliminary investigation revealed that terrorists barged into the house of a civilian identified as Javid Ahmad Dar, a contractor by profession, and resident of Brazloo, and fired indiscriminately upon him. In this terror incident, he received critical gunshot injuries and died on the spot," a police officer said.

"As claimed by BJP party spokesman, the deceased person was BJP worker. As per district police, no one had approached them for security and even local BJP leader didn't share his name in the list of PPs," the officer added.

Police has registered a case.

"Investigation is in progress and officers continue to work to establish the full circumstances of this terror crime. Area has been cordoned and search in the area is going on. Police will identify the culprits and appropriate action would be taken at the earliest," the police officer said.

BJP J&K spokesman Altaf Thakur termed killing of Dar as barbaric and has urged police to nab attackers and punish them sternly.

In a statement, Thakur said that militants are feeling frustrated and targeting innocents, but "killing unarmed people won't lead to anything".

This was the latest in the series of attacks on BJP leaders in Kashmir.

On Thursday night, terrorists hurled a grenade at the residence of BJP leader Jasbir Singh in Rajouri district in which a child was killed and several others were injured.

On August 9, terrorists shot dead BJP's Kisan Morcha district President Ghulam Rasool Dar and his wife in Anantnag district.