Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Monday said that the state police had identified the suspected militants who killed Bharatiya Janata Party Secretary Anil Parihar and his brother. Malik said action will be taken against the accused soon, PTI reported.
Gunmen had attacked the BJP leader and his brother Ajeet Parihar while they were on their way home in Kishtwar on November 1.
The governor said the attack “was an act of frustration on the part of militants and Pakistan”. “The results will be before you soon,” Malik told reporters on the sidelines of an event at the Civil Secretariat.
He said the murders were intended to disrupt the panchayat elections starting November 8, reported Greater Kashmir. “After the killings, we were afraid that some miscreants might use the situation to incite communal violence in Kishtwar as the area has seen lot of violence in the past,” the governor said. “But the way both the communities handled the situation and condemned the killing is appreciable.”
On November 2, the Indian Army staged a flag march in Kishtwar town following the attack on the brothers. The state government has constituted a Special Investigation Team to investigate the killing and submit a report, PTI reported.
The governor said his administration will try to create an atmosphere for talks with all stakeholders to the Kashmir dispute in the next four to six months, reported Kashmir Reader. He claimed that stone-pelting incidents and militancy have come down in the state.
Malik said the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party have realised that they made a mistake by boycotting the municipal polls and will take part in the panchayat elections.
Malik took charge of the state in August, two months after it was placed under Governor’s rule in the wake of the Bharatiya Janata Party walking out of its ruling alliance with the Peoples Democratic Party.
An indefinite curfew was imposed in parts of Kishtwar and Doda districts soon after the attack on November 1. Restrictions in Doda, including the main town, and Bhadarwah, Paddar and Chatroo in Kishtwar have since been relaxed. Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, however, continues to remain in effect.
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