The body of Bharatiya Janta Party leader Shabbir Ahmed Bhat was found in Litter village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday morning, ANI reported. The 26-year-old constituency leader was abducted by unidentified gunmen on Tuesday when he was on his way home to celebrate Eid.
Bhat lived in a rented house in Srinagar. “We are investigating the circumstances of the killing of BJP leader,” an unidentified senior police officer told the Hindustan Times. No militant group has claimed responsibility yet.
BJP President Amit Shah said he was anguished to learn of Bhat’s death. “This act of cowardice is highly condemnable,” Shah said on Twitter. “Extremists cannot stop the youth of Kashmir from choosing a better future for themselves. This cycle of violence won’t last long.”
BJP state spokesperson Altaf Thakur condemned the killing. “He [Bhat] was our constituency president and a dedicated leader,” Thakur said.
The BJP’s state unit said, “His killing exposes the frustration of wrong elements who have no respect for religion of peace. The BJP prays for peace to the departed soul and courage to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss.”
Bhat is the third senior BJP leader to be targeted and killed by gunmen in South Kashmir over the last one year.
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