J&K BJP secy, brother shot dead in Kishtwar
JAMMU: In the first attack on a political leader in the Jammu region ahead of the panchayat elections, suspected terrorists shot dead state BJP secretary and his brother in Kishtwar late on Thursday evening.
Panchayat elections are scheduled to start from November 17 across the state.
State BJP secretary Anil Parihar and his brother Ajit Parihar were shot at from a close range by unidentified gunmen when they were returning from their stationery shop, police said.
The assailants were apparently waiting for the brothers to return home and used pistols to target them, police said. They were rushed to Kishtwar district hospital where doctors declared them brought dead.
Tension flared up in communally-sensitive Kishtwar after the incident. Hundreds of people gathered outside the Kishtwar hospital and some BJP workers allegedly heckled a police officer.
Curfew and prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were imposed in the town after angry mob started vandalising property. The mob also pelted the Kishtwar police station with stones.
Jammu divisional commissioner Sanjeev Verma said police are investigating the matter.
Anil Parihar, 53, had been associated with the BJP for over three decades. Before being made state secretary of the BJP, he also remained state president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP.
A firebrand leader, Parihar had left the BJP for some time and had joined the Panthers Party but he was placated back by MoS in the PMO Jitendra Singh.
His younger brother Ajit was an employee of the state forest corporation.
State BJP president Ravinder Raina condemned the attack. “The cowards attacked them in the dark from point-blank range. Terrorists involved in the attack will not be spared. In this hour of grief entire BJP stand by the Parihar family,” he added.
FIRST POLITICAL KILLING IN JAMMU REGION AHEAD OF PANCHAYAT POLLS; TENSION FLARES UP IN TOWN, CURFEW IMPOSED