Srinagar: In a fresh incident of shooting in the valley, a civilian has been shot dead by unknown gunmen on Saturday in the Eidgah area of Srinagar. The victim has been identified as Arvind Kumar, a non-local vendor, police informed.
"A non-local panipoori vendor, Arvind Kumar (resident of Bihar) was fired upon by the unidentified gunmen near Eidgah park, leaving him in a pool of blood," a senior police official said.
He further said, "The injured was rushed to Srinagar’s SMHS hospital where he was declared brought dead."
Meanwhile, police have registered a case and manhunt has been launched to nab the attackers.
In another incident, unidentified gunmen shot a non-local carpenter in the Litter area of South Kashmir's Pulwama.
"A non-local namely Sajeer from Uttar Pradesh was fired upon at a shop in the Litter area of Pulwama district," a senior police official said.
He said that Sajeer was working as a carpenter at a local mill in Litter, adding that he was rushed to the hospital for treatment. He later succumbed to his injuries.
The official also said that the forces have rushed to the spot and launched a manhunt to nab the attackers.
Also read:Triple killings rock Kashmir, non-local among those dead
Leaders in the valley were quick to condemn the attack calling them cowardly.
Reacting to the news, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti called for 'constructive dialogue.'
"Strongly condemn today’s attack on a street vendor who sadly succumbed. Such unfortunate incidents only reinforce the immediate need to reach out to the people of J&K by initiating a constructive dialogue," she tweeted.
National Conference Vice President, Omar Abdullah also took to Twitter to condemn the attacks on non-locals, calling the incident 'reprehensible'.
"Strongly condemn the killing of street vendor Arvind Kumar in a terror attack in Srinagar today. This is yet another case of a civilian being targeted like this. All Arvind Kumar did was come to Srinagar in search of earning opportunities & it’s reprehensible that he was murdered," he said.
Sajjad Lone-led People's Conference also condemned the attacks and extended condolences & sympathies to the families of the victims.
Lt. Governor of J&K, Manoj Sinha, also condemned the attacks. Sinha said that the perpetrators of these attacks will be brought to justice.
"Perpetrators of these heinous attacks will be punished soon. We have intensified our efforts to crush terrorists & their ecosystem. They will have to pay a very heavy price for killing innocent civilians." he said.
