Srinagar

The Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-toiba (LeT) terrorists were behind the gruesome killing of BJP Sarpanch Ghulam Rasool Dar and his panch wife Jawahra Banoo in Anantnag town of South Kashmir, police said.

Inspector general police, Kashmir, said that two-bike borne terrorists of LeT outfit were involved in this barbaric terror incident. It’s not clear if they had been identified.

Police said at about 4 p.m., Anantnag police received information about a terror crime incident at Lalchowk area of the district where terrorists had fired upon BJP Sarpanch and his wife, a Panch.

Dar was head of the Kulgam Kissan Morcha of BJP.

"Preliminary investigation revealed that terrorists barged inside the rented accommodation of BJP Sarpanch Ghulam Rasool Dar, son of Ghulam Hassan Dar, resident of Redwani Kulgam at Lalchowk, Anantnag and fired indiscriminately from pistols. In this terror crime, BJP Sarpanch and his wife Jawhara Begum received critical gunshot injuries, and were immediately shifted to hospital, where both were declared brought dead," a police officer said.

Unfortunately, the couple had been provided a secure accommodation in Kulgam yet they chose to come back to the town of Anantnag and live in the rented house at Lal Chock. The police had provided them a personal security officer, who, was missing at the time of the attack.

The said PSO has been placed under suspension.

Police has registered a case in this regard under relevant sections of law.

BJP J&K spokesperson Altaf Thakur has strongly condemned the killing of Ghulam Rasool Dar and his wife.

Terming the killings barbaric and cowardly, Thakur said attacking and killing innocent people will lead to nowhere and the acts reflect the frustration on the part of the terrorists.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has strongly condemned the killings.

"I strongly condemn brutal terrorist attack on the Sarpanch GH Rasool Dar and his wife Jawhara Banoo of Redwani Bala, Kulgam.

"This is an act of cowardice and perpetrators of violence will be brought to justice very soon. My deepest condolences to bereaved family in this time of grief," his office said in a tweet.