Anil Parihar, BJP State Secretary and his brother, Ajit Parihar, were gunned down by militants in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday evening.
The incident happened when they were returning from their shop around 8:00 P.M., in Kishtwar district. A group of unidentified gunmen shot them in the dark and narrow lanes of a street called Tappal Gali Mohalla. The killer was thought to be waiting for Mr. Parihar and when they arrived, the killer shot Anil and Ajit.
The brothers were immediately taken to a nearby government hospital, where a doctor declared them dead.
The killing erupted violence in the town, people gathered outside the hospital and started a protest against police officers. The police are citing the upcoming elections on the 17th of November as the primary motive for this shooting. Anil Parihar’s involvement in the elections was seen as a threat by the opposition.
Sanjeev Verma, the Divisional Commissioner of Jammu, called the killing to be a disruptive activity and has ordered for an inquiry and investigation.
Dilbagh Singh, a senior police officer said, “We are trying to find out the identity of the killers.”
The authorities feared violence and ordered the army to remain on standby in the region. They imposed a curfew in the Kishtwar district and other nearby districts such as Doda, Chenab Valley, etc., of Jammu and Kashmir.
