25 wedding guests shot dead at Doda

The militants, at least four of them, arrived in a private Maruti van which they had hijacked, police said. The victims were asked to line up and the male members segregated from the group before their valuables were snatched at gun-point and they were shot at indiscriminately. The driver of the van was arrested by the police late evening.

Though no militant outfit has so far claimed responsibility, Director General of Police Gurbachan Jagat said the killers were members of the Riaz Babbar group of the HizbulMujahideen. Jagat said one of them has been identified as Muzzafar, a local guide of the outfit. He said operations have been launched in the area to arrest the killers.

One of the injured, Bal Krishan of Rajgarh, who was shifted to the Government Medical College, told The Indian Express that three armed militants came to Chapnari where they were waiting for a Matador and asked them to line up. 8220;They asked us if there were any Village Defence Committee members in the group. Even though there were some among us, we didn8217;t say.

They ordered us to hand over all our valuables, including cameras, before they started firing indiscriminately at us. I was hit by three bullets and could survive only because three bodies fell on me,8221; Krishan said.

Sources said the Maruti van was hijacked from the Doda-Bhagwa road and the passengers asked to leave the vehicle. Thereafter, the ultras asked the driver to take them towards Chapnari where the baratis were waiting for a vehicle.

Prime Minister Atal BehariVajpayee, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah condemned the killings. Describing the massacre as 8220;yet another barbaric act8221; of Pak-sponsored militants in Jammu amp; Kashmir, Farooq said: 8220;This is the heavy price we are paying in this proxy war unleashed on our people by Pakistan and there are no words strong enough to condemn this inhuman act of senseless elements who are behaving like beasts rather then human beings.quot;