Terrorists who killed BJP leader Anil Parihar in Kishtwar have been identified, claims Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Monday claimed that those who killed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader 52-year-old Anil Parihar and his brother Ajit Parihar, 55, in Kishtwar on Thursday have been identified and the perpetrators will be “brought to book”. Dubbing the perpetrators as ’terrorists’, Malik said the attackers were frustrated to see polling for urban local body elections go smoothly and without any killings", and in retaliation killed Parihar. Adding that the morale of the security forces is high, the governor further added that they will not allow the “terrorists to disturb panchayat elections.”

The senior BJP leader and his brother were killed  while returning home after closing their stationery shop  located outside old DC office complex, officials said. As the two were walking towards their home in Parihar mohalla through a dark lane in Tapal Mohalla, they were fired upon from a close range by unidentified gunmen around 8.40 pm, they said. Following the killings, people had staged angry protests in the communally-sensitive town and manhandled senior police officials, following which the authorities suspended internet services. An indefinite curfew was imposed as a precautionary measure on Thursday night. The curfew was, however, lifted from Doda district, including the main town and Bhadarwah along with Paddar and Chatroo sub-divisions of Kishtwar district on Saturday, but section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) continued to remain in force in these areas as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order. The Army also staged a flag march in the sensitive areas to help the district administration in Kishtwar maintain law and order. The government has constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the killing and directed it to expedite the investigation and submit its report as early as possible. With inputs from agencies