Politician killed outside Himayat Centre in Kashmir

Continuing with their attacks, suspected militants on Wednesday killed a politician in north Kashmir's Sopore area. Preliminary police report said that Kifayat Hussain Mir, a resident of Bhoripora, was shot dead when a militant shot him from a point blank range at around 10.30 am.

Continuing with their attacks, suspected militants on Wednesday killed a politician in north Kashmir's Sopore area.

HT Image

Preliminary police report said that Kifayat Hussain Mir, a resident of Bhoripora, was shot dead when a militant shot him from a point blank range at around 10.30 am. Mir was killed near a Centrally-funded Himayat Centre in Shankergund area of Sopore, 55 km north of Srinagar.

Mir, who contested the 2008 assembly polls unsuccessfully, was provided two personal security personnel by the government. The security forces launched a manhunt immediately after the attack and cordoned the village but no arrests were made.

This was third militant attack in the last four days.

Mir, according to locals, was part of the rally addressed by union minister of rural development Jairam Ramesh in Sopore in April this year.

K. Manickaraj, state in-charge of National Rural Livelihoods Mission, told the HT that Mir was not running Himayat centre.

If Mir was attacked for being part of the Himayat scheme then it is first such attempt by militants to try to sabotage any centrally sponsored scheme.

Himayat and Umeed scheme, which aims at organising source of income for around 15,000 youths and nine lakh women in first phase, are two flagship schemes to provide employment to youth of Kashmir. Both the central schemes were launched in 2011 after the valley witnessed three consecutive years of street violence, mainly participated by youth.