Sikh man shot dead by terrorists in Srinagar, another injured

Srinagar: In the first incident this year of target killing in Kashmir, a non-local man was killed while another grievously injured when unidentified terrorists fired upon them in the old city area of Srinagar on Wednesday.

“Terrorists fired upon a non-local identified as Amritpal Singh resident of Amritsar at Shaheed Gunj #Srinagar, who #succumbed to the injuries. One more person is grievously injured and evacuated for medical attention. Area has been #cordoned off. Further details shall follow,” said a police spokesman on X.

Reports said pistol-borne terrorists fired upon Singh and another person identified as Rohit son of Prem Mashi from point blank range. While Singh died on the spot, Rohit sustained bullet injury in abdomen and was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital.

Immediately after the incident, police and paramilitary forces rushed to the spot and a manhunt was launched to nab the assailants, reports added. This is the first incident of target killing in 2024 and happened in the heart of Srinagar city.

In October last year several people, including off-duty policemen, were killed by the militants in similar incidents in Srinagar and other parts of the Valley. The Resistance Front, believed to be an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba, has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attacks.

While the attacks on the non-locals started in the valley after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, the attacks saw a sharp increase in 2021 and 2022.