Shot at, BJP worker succumbs to injuries

FOLLOWING THE KILLINGS, TWO BJP LEADERS

HAD RESIGNED FROM

THE PARTY. INCLUDING BJYM PRESIDENT

FROM BARAMULLA, MAROUF BHAT

nSRINAGAR: A day after unidentified men shot and wounded Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activist Abdul Hamid Najar when he was on a morning walk in central Kashmir’s Budgam, he died of the injuries in hospital on Monday.

Najar was the district president of the party’s Other Backward Classes front. He was the third BJP functionary to be attacked in Kashmir in five days and second to be killed by suspected militants. One functionary who survived an attack in is still battling for his life.

Najar was attacked when he was on a morning walk on Sunday. He was injured in the stomach and admitted to SMHS Hospital in Srinagar for treatment. He died of his injuries in the morning. “All efforts to save our injured colleague failed and he passed away around 5.30 am. He was later buried at his native place in Budgam,” BJP state spokesman Altaf Thakur said.

On Thursday, unidentified gunmen killed Sajjad Ahmad Khanday, who was sarpach of Vessu village in Qazigund block in Kulgam. Khanday was shot by gunmen close to his house. Two days earlier, sarpanch Arif Ahmad was shot by suspected militants near his home in Akhran village of Devsar in Kulgam. He was hit in the neck and his condition is said to be critical.

After the attack Najar on Sunday, four leaders and workers of the Budgam unit of the party resigned. The leaders didn’t cite any reason for the resignation.

Three BJP workers fromf Kulgam– Nisar Ahmad Wani, constituency president from Kund; Sabzar Ahmad Paddar, vice president, Devsar seat; and BJP activist Ashiq Hussain Palla from Warpora-kund – have also announced their decision to dissociate themselves from the party. Last month, BJP’S former district president of Bandipora, Waseem Bari, was killed, along with his father Basheer Ahmad and brother Suhail Basheer, inside his shop. Jammu and Kashmir Police had said that two Lashkar-e-taiba (LET) members were involved in the killing of Bari and his kin.

Following the killings, two BJP leaders had resigned from the party. including Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha president from Baramulla, Marouf Bhat.

Police had received inputs that militants may try to target sarpanchs and block development council (BDC) chairmen ahead of August 5, the first anniversary of the revocation of Article 370 that conferred special status on Jammu and Kashmir.

Following the inputs. dozens of panchayat members and BDC chairmen were shifted to safe locations and asked not to venture out till Independence Day .