BJP leader cremated, terror group says it’s behind attack

People’s Anti Fascist Front (PAFF) claimed responsibility for the killing in a statement that accused Pandita of creating a network of informers, drug trafficking and “immoral activities”.

A previously unknown terror group has claimed responsibility for the killing of a councillor in Jammu and Kashmir’s Tral on Wednesday night when he was visiting a friend’s house on his way back from Jammu without his security cover, police said.

Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) workers carry the body of Rakesh Pandita, who was killed late Wednesday, in Jammu. (AP Photo)

Rakesh Pandita, 56, a leader of Bharatiya Janata Party, was shot dead while his friend Mushtaq Ahmad’s daughter suffered injuries in the shooting and was hospitalised in a critical condition.

Pandita was cremated in Jammu on Thursday.

People’s Anti Fascist Front (PAFF) claimed responsibility for the killing in a statement that accused Pandita of creating a network of informers, drug trafficking and “immoral activities”. It added it was “keeping an eye on the activities of these forces”.

“He [Pandita] had gone to Jammu and left PSOs [Personal Security Officers] in Kashmir. After returning from Jammu, he went to Tral without his PSOs to meet his friend... The investigations are going on,” said a police officer, requesting anonymity.

Police said PAFF appears to be a front of terrorist organisations active in south Kashmir and added security forces have cordoned off the attack scene and launched a search operation to nab the assailants.