Targeted killing: Terrorists shoot dead Kashmiri Hindu in J&K

Deceased Sanjay Sharma was attacked while on his way to the local market

NEW DELHI | Updated: 26 February, 2023 4:17 pm IST

The attack on Sanjay Sharma was the first on a Hindu civilian in the last four months

In a targeted attack on the minority communities in Jammu and Kashmir, terrorists killed a Hindu civilian in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Sunday, February 26.

“Terrorists fired upon one civilian from minority namely Sanjay Sharma S/O Kashinath Sharma R/O Achan Pulwama while on way to the local market,” the Kashmir Zone police said in a tweet.

The victim was critically injured after terrorists indiscriminately fired at him while he was on his way to the local market, the police said.

He was immediately shifted to the nearby government hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Sharma allegedly worked as a security guard at a bank, according to the police.

This is the first attack on a Hindu civilian in the last four months and the second targeted attack on a Kashmiri local in the past two days.

A terrorist shot at and injured Asif Ali Ganai in Anantnag on Saturday. Ganai’s father, a police head constable, was also killed by the terrorists in an attack last year.

The Kashmir valley has witnessed multiple incidents of targeted killings in the last three years. Around 24 people have lost their lives in these targeted killings. Most of the victims were migrant workers or Kashmiri Pandits.

Last year in August, terrorists shot dead Rahul Bhat, a government employee, inside his office in the Revenue Department at the tehsil office in Chadoora Budgam. It led to an unprecedented widespread protest from the minority Kashmiri Pandits across the state.

Kashmiri Pandits raised slogans questioning the central government’s move to relocate them to valleys under the PM Package. There was a mass resignation from the PM package employees among the Kashmiri Pandits as well as members of other minority communities, who feared for their lives following a spate of attacks on them.

A concerted effort by the central government, state administration, state police and central security forces brought the situation under some control. The latest attack appeared to be an attempt by terrorists to instill fear in the hearts of ordinary people.