E-Paper
School teacher shot dead by terrorists in J&K: 'Another targeted attack'
"Another targeted attack against a migrant government teacher in Kulgam area of South Kashmir. Reports of her condition are conflicting. Praying that she survives the attack," tweeted former chief minister Omar Abdullah.
A school teacher - shot at by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam - died of the gunshot injuries on Tuesday, the police have said. The teacher has been identified as Rajini Bhalla. The incident comes amid a spate of attacks on non-locals in the union territory, and also weeks after protests over the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit, Rahul Bhat, and a TV artist Ambreen Bhat.
"Very sad. This is yet another targeted killing in a long list of recent attacks directed at unarmed civilians. Words of condemnation & condolence ring hollow as do the assurances of the government that they will not rest till situation normalises. May the deceased rest in peacepeace," former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted. "Rajni was from Samba District of Jammu province. A government teacher working in Kulgam area of South Kashmir, she lost her life in a despicable targeted attack. My heart goes out to her husband Raj Kumar & the rest of her family. Another home irreparably damaged by violence. (sic)," he had said in another post.
The police assured action against those accused. "Terrorists fired upon one woman teacher at High School Gopalpora area of Kulgam. In this terror incident, she has received critical gunshot injuries. Being shifted to hospital. Area has been cordoned off. Further details shall follow. (sic)," the Kashmir Zone Police had initially said on Twitter, and later gave an update."KulgamTerrorIncidentUpdate: Injured lady teacher, a Hindu & resident of Samba (Jammu division) succumbed to her injuries. Terrorists involved in this gruesome #error crime will be soon identified & neutralised. @JmuKmrPolice (sic)," read another post.
The union territory has seen a rise in attacks on civilians, specially non-locals.
In an encounter on Monday, which stretched late night, security officials had gunned down two terrorists in the Pulwama district, 34.9 km away from Kulgam. They were identified as Shahid Rather, a resident of Tral town in Pulwama, and Umar Yousuf, a resident of Shopian district.
Shahid was involved in killings of two civilians last year-- Shakeela Banu, and and a government employee- Javid Ahmed., the police said.
Earlier this month, Rahul Bhat, a Kashmir Pandit, was shot dead inside his office by terrorists in the Budgam district. The incident renewed concerns over the safety of Kashmiri Pandit living in the valley, with the community members, including Bhat's family, accusing the BJP-led government at the centre of not doing enough for them. Following the killing, an SIT (special investigation team) was set up to probe Rahul Bhat's killing.
Twenty-six foreign terrorists linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been shot dead since January in separate encounters. Fourteen of those killed foreign terrorists were from Jaish, founded by Masood Azhar, while 12 were affiliated to LeT set up by Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed, news agency PTI reported quoting inspector general of police Kashmir zone Vijay Kumar.
