J&K: Jammu resident shot dead in south Kashmir

The slain civilian identified by only his first name Deepu, a resident of Udhampur district in the Jammu region, was shot dead by militants in the southern Kashmir district.

Udhampur (J&K):Suspected militants on Monday evening shot dead a Jammu resident in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. The slain civilian identified by only his first name Deepu, a resident of Udhampur district in the Jammu region, was shot dead by militants in the southern Kashmir district.

"Terrorists fired upon one civilian namely Deepu R/O Udhampur working at a private circus mela at amusement park near Janglaat Mandi in Anantnag. He was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Case registered, investigation going on," Kashmir Zone Police wrote in a tweet.

Soon after the incident, police and security personnel cordoned off the area and begin the manhunt to apprehend the attackers. Earlier this year, militants shot dead a 40-year-old Kashmiri Pandit man in Pulwama district while he was on his way to a local market in what was yet another targeted killing of a minority community member in the valley.

Sanjay Sharma, who worked as an ATM guard, was shot in the chest at point-blank range in the Achan area of the south Kashmir district. In 2022, militants carried out nearly 30 attacks on civilians, killing 18 persons including three Kashmiri Pandits, a bank manager from Rajasthan, a woman teacher from Jammu and eight non-local workers.

The killings had triggered widespread condemnation with the administration led by L-G Manoj Sinha promising stern action against the perpetrators. The administration's claim that militancy was on a decline in the Union Territory received a major blow when earlier this month five soldiers were killed in a gunfight with militants in the jungles of the Rajouri-Poonch sector of the Jammu division.