A member of the Village Defence Committee (VDC) shot and killed a woman and her four-year-old son in Samote area of the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday morning.
The police said that Mushtaq Ahmed, 35, who runs a barber shop, arrived at Shamim Akhter’s house and following an altercation, he shot her and her son Tousif.
“We have arrested the accused and also seized the gun. A case has been registered and we are currently investigating all angles for the twin murder,” said SSP Rajouri Rajeshwar Singh.
The police brought the dead bodies to a hospital in Kotranaka, about 20 kilometres from Samote. A group of protestors called for the VDCs to be disbanded and demanded cash assistance to the family of the deceased. They also closed business establishments in Kotranaka in protest.
The double homicide was the second instance of murder by a VDC member in Rajouri. Earlier this week, a member of the committee had killed Ishtyaq, a National Conference youth leader in Kalakote teshil, which resulted in a political slugfest between the ruling BJP-PDP coalition government and the NC.
VDCs were formed in the Jammu region when militancy was at its peak.
{{/usCountry}}VDCs were formed in the Jammu region when militancy was at its peak.
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