New Delhi: A day after militants shot dead a Kashmiri Pandit in his government office, they targeted and killed a police officer on Friday morning in the Valley’s Pulwama district.
Special Police Officer Riyaz Ahmed Thoker died in hospital after he was fired upon in his village Gudoora in south Kashmir.
The Kashmir Zone Police tweeted: “Injured Police Constable Reyaz Ahmed Thoker succumbed to his injuries at hospital & attained #martyrdom. We pay rich #tributes to the #martyr & stand by his family at this crucial juncture.”
The Valley has been beset by targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits, migrants and government and political workers since last October.
Several Kashmiri Pandit organisations protested in the Valley overnight after government employee Rahul Bhat was gunned down Thursday in his revenue office in Chadoora, in central Kashmir’s Budgam district.
The Kashmiri Pandit’s Employees Association in Anantnag asked the administration to relocate the community to places where “we feel rehabilitated”.
Pandits at Sheikhpora threatened to resign enmasse unless the administration, headed by the Lieutenant Governor, gave them security.
At present, the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory is without an elected government and is directly under central rule.
The Shiv Sena – in power in Maharashtra and a vocal critic of the Centre — has said the Union Home Ministry needs to look into what can be done for Kashmir Pandits. “Let’s not keep pointing fingers at Pakistan,” Sena leader Sanjay Raut said Friday.
Take tough decisions to end this atmosphere of instability that is building in Jammu and Kashmir, the Opposition leader urged the Centre.
Also read: Power balance or bid to disenfranchise Valley? J&K delimitation report kicks up furore