Tension in held Kashmir after BJP leader killed

HELD SRINAGAR: Indian authorities imposed a curfew and deployed extra troops Friday in a remote district of Held Kashmir after gunmen killed a local leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and his brother. The gunmen shot dead Anil Parihar, the BJP state secretary for Kashmir, and his brother from close range on Thursday night as they walked home after closing the family bookshop in Kishtwar, police said.

The incident triggered protests in the town in the south of the Muslim-majority state. Kishtwar has a mixed Hindu-Muslim population and activists from the Hindu-dominated party took to the streets to demand action.

Authorities imposed a curfew and ordered extra military patrols to prevent violence. “The situation is under control and an investigation into the incident is going on,” Dilbag Singh, director general of police, told AFP.

The freedom fighters fighting the Indian rule in IHK rarely strike in Kishtwar district. Fearing sectarian tensions, Muslim leaders used mosques loudspeakers Friday to also demand the attackers be found.