Former Militant Shot Dead in Awantipora

SRINAGAR: A former militant was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Awantipora area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district late Tuesday night.

A senior Jammu and Kashmir Police officer said two assailants barged into the residence of Javid Ahmad Khan, son of Mohammad Rajab Khan, a resident of Khandipora in Awantipora, and fired indiscriminately.

The incident took place at around 9:35 pm. "He had suffered multiple bullet wounds and died on the spot," the officer said.

A team of Indian Army's 55 RR and J&K Police's SOG cordoned off the area and launched a manhunt to nab the attackers who disappeared from the scene of crime after the incident.

Police said Javid worked as a teacher at Guru Nanak College of Education in Awantipora and was also a military contractor. Sources revealed that he was held in 2010 with a pistol following which he served around two years in jail.

"His brother was a militant who was killed in an encounter in 2002. Last year, his house was attacked by unknown assailants but he had managed to escape the bid on his life," sources said.

Killings by "unknown" gunmen have gone up in Kashmir Valley after the PDP-BJP coalition government came into office early this year.

"Unknown" assailants unleashed a reign of terror in north Kashmir's Sopore town in June this year, killing four persons, including a senior activist of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat led by Syed Ali Geelani.

The killings were linked by the Hurriyat as well as the former chief minister Omar Abdullah to Union Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar's remarks that "terrorist will be used to kill terrorists" in the state.

Although the J&K police have blamed the killings in Sopore on a rebel group of Hizbul Mujahideen, the families of the slain persons have accused the "Indian agencies" of carrying out the murders.