Last Updated: February 26, 2023, 20:13 IST
Deputy Inspector General (DIG), South Kashmir Range, Rayees Bhat said it was a planned attack.
(Representational/Photo: News18)
Sanjay Sharma, who worked as an ATM guard, was shot in the chest just 50 meters away from his residence.
Terrorists on Sunday arrested a 40-year-old Kashmiri Pandit, working as a bank guard, in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district. The local was killed in the morning after he came out of his house, which was guarded by the police.
Sanjay Sharma, who worked as an ATM guard, was shot in the chest at point-blank range barely 100 metres from his residence in the Achan area of the south Kashmir district at around 11 am, police said.
He walked 50 meters away from his house, when the terrorists opened fired on him.
Eyewitness told News18 that Sanjay was grievously injured when he was moved to a local hospital for treatment where he succumb to his injuries. He was rushed to a hospital by a passersby.
Mohummad Younis, a local, while narrating the incident said that “people heard gunshot and rushed only to see our brother Sanjay in a pool of blood.”
Sanjay is survived by three children including two daughter, son and wife. A local said that Sanjay used to earn 8 thousand a month as a guard and was asked by police to stay home after killings of minorities had picked up last year.
“Terrorists fired upon one civilian from minority namely Sanjay Sharma S/O Kashinath Sharma R/O Achan Pulwama while on way to a local market,” the Kashmir Zone police said on Twitter.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG), South Kashmir Range, Rayees Bhat said it was a “planned attack”.
Last year, terrorists carried out nearly 30 attacks on civilians, killing 18 persons including three Kashmiri Pandits, a bank manager from Rajasthan, a woman teacher from Jammu and eight non-local workers.
While locals protested against the killing, political parties including PDP blamed BJP for failing to protect the minorities.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti told media that such killings only benefit one political party. “This benefits agenda of one party. BJP has failed to protect whatever minorities are remaining here. They use them to portray normalcy in Kashmir. They are sacrificing them,” PDP chief said.
A Press Communique issued by the LG house read that the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, has strongly condemned the dastardly terror attack and the administration is standing strong with the bereaved family.
“My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. The administration has given a free hand to the security forces to deal with the terrorists and we will continue to combat such acts of terrorism firmly and decisively,” the Lt Governor said.
J&K LG had to cancel his scheduled inauguration of Dancing fountain/Aerators today evening, apparently because of Pulwama killing.
A Kashmiri Pandit organisation called Kashmiri Pandit Sangesh Samiti (KPSS) has calls for shutdown tomorrow against the brutalities by terrorists against Kashmiris.
Read all the Latest India News here