J&K militants kill 2 at outreach event

SRINAGAR/ANANTNAG:Suspected militants unleashed a fresh wave of violence today when they attacked J&K Government’s ambitious “Governance at doorsteps programme”, leaving a panchayat member and a government official dead and two others injured, even as mysterious blast at Kashmir University gate left three persons injured.

Majid Jahangir &

Suhail A Shah

Tribune News Service

Srinagar/Anantnag, Nov 26

Suspected militants unleashed a fresh wave of violence today when they attacked J&K Government’s ambitious “Governance at doorsteps programme”, leaving a panchayat member and a government official dead and two others injured, even as mysterious blast at Kashmir University gate left three persons injured.

A senior official of J&K Government, however, said the attack would not stop them from holding the massive outreach programme that would concluded on November 30.

“The programme will continue,” Secretary Rural Development Department Sheetal Nanda told The Tribune. “It is a militant attack which is aimed at creating fear.”

The militants targeted a gathering of officials and panchayat members who had assembled at Haokoora Badasgam village in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district for a “Back-to-Village meeting”, which was launched on Monday. The meeting was presided over by a Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) and attended by several officials from the district.

Police officials said militants lobbed a grenade soon after government officials had concluded a meeting with the panchayat members.

“As the meeting was over, the officials and panchayat members were taking pictures in the panchayat premises when they came under attack. A grenade was lobbed in which four persons were seriously injured. Two injured, including a panchayat member and a government official, succumbed to their injuries,” a police official said. Over 70 persons, including locals, were present at the time of attack. The slain were identified as sarpanch Peer Mohammad Rafiq (42) and Agriculture Officer Zahoor Ahmed Sheikh. The slain sarpanch was affiliated with the Congress. While the police said only grenade was lobbed, sources said militants also resorted to firing.

Blast outside Kashmir varsity, three injured

At least three persons were injured in a mysterious blast outside the University of Kashmir at Hazratbal
Srinagar SSP Haseeb Mughal said, “Three persons were injured. We are trying to ascertain the nature of the blast”