Civilian shot dead by militants cremated in Kulgam

A large number of people participated in the last rites of Satish Kumar Singh who belonged to the Rajput clan, and was a driver by profession

A day after a civilian was shot dead by militants outside his house in Kulgam, his body was consigned to flames at Kakran village in Kulgam on Thursday.

A day after a civilian was shot dead by militants outside his house in Kulgam, his body was consigned to flames at Kakran village in Kulgam. (Waseem Andrabi/HT)

A large number of people participated in the last rites of Satish Kumar who belonged to the Rajput clan, and was a driver by profession. After he was shot outside his house, Kumar had been shifted to the district hospital in Kulgam, from where he was referred to Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS). However, he succumbed on the way to hospital.

Kumar lived in the village with six other non Muslim families. Many villagers condemned the killing. “He (Kumar) never migrated. Even during the peak of militancy, non local families were not harmed. Unfortunately, he was shot on the premises of his house,” said one of his neighbours at Kakran village, which is 40km from the district headquarters.

Several mainstream political leaders took to Twitter to condemn the attack. “I unequivocally condemn the attack. There can never be a justification for attacks like these. May his soul rest in peace and may his family find strength during this difficult time,” former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah said.

“Killing unarmed and innocent civilians is barbaric and condemnable. The unending saga of sacrifices,” said Peoples Conference in a statement.

The BJP urged the police to nab the people behind this attack. “Those responsible for killing Kumar should be exposed,” BJP state spokesperson Altaf Thakur said.

Soon after the attack, the police and army had launched cordon and search operation in neighbouring areas to track down the attackers. However, the militants could not be traced.

On April 4, Kashmiri Pandit Bal Krishnan was attacked at his shop in Chotigam village in Shopian. The back-to-back attacks on Pandit families who had not migrated from the Valley in early 90s has caused panic in Kashmir.