Kashmir's Latest Target Killing: Terrorists Gun Down Hindu Man In Pulwama

Terrorists have shot dead a Hindu civilian in a targeted attack in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Sunday.

The victim was identified as Sanjay Sharma, a Kashmiri Hindu resident of Achan, who was critically injured after terrorists fired at him while he was on his way to the local market.

He was shifted to the nearby government hospital where doctors declared him dead. Mr Sharma reportedly worked as a security guard at a bank.

"Terrorists fired upon one civilian from minority namely Sanjay Sharma S/O Kashinath Sharma R/O Achan Pulwama while on way to local market," the Kashmir Zone police said in a tweet.

Police say an armed guard has been deployed in the village for the protection of the minority community and an investigation in the matter is ongoing.

After the shooting, Mr Sharma's Muslim neighbours protested against the terrorist attack. "This is a blot on the shared Kashmiriyat between the Hindu and Muslim people here," one of the neighbours said.

This is the first attack on a Hindu civilian in last four months and the second targeted attack on a Kashmiri local in two days. A terrorist shot at and injured Asif Ali Ganai in Anantnag whose father, a police head constable, was killed in a terrorist attack last year.

There were a series of targeted killings in Kashmir last year. Many of the victims were migrant workers or Kashmiri Pandits.

The killings triggered a wave of protests by the minority community. Kashmiri Pandits held demonstrations during which they raised slogans under the central government and questioned if they brought them back to the Valley to get killed.