Militants kill sarpanch in Valley

Unidentified militants killed a sarpanch on Monday evening in north Kashmirs Palhalan village. The killing has come at a time when militants have been issuing threats to the elected panchs and sarpanchs and asked them to resign from their posts

Unidentified militants killed a sarpanch on Monday evening in north Kashmirs Palhalan village. The killing has come at a time when militants have been issuing threats to the elected panchs and sarpanchs and asked them to resign from their posts.

Since the panchayat elections held last year,militants have killed five panchs and sarpanchs across the Valley. Recently,a body representing panchs and sarpanchs shot off a letter to the government seeking security for them.

The police said the unidentified militants shot at Palhalan sarpanch Ghulam Mohammad Yatoo when he was coming out from a mosque after offering evening prayers.

He Yatoo was shot in the head and was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead, a police spokesperson said. He said a team has been constituted to track down the killers. We have already registered a case and started investigation.

Two weeks back,militants had attacked a sarpanch in south Kashmirs Tral area. The series of attacks on the panchayat members have left panchs and sarpanchs in the Valley scared.

Dozens of panchs and sarpanchs have already resigned from their posts.

Last month,posters had appeared in some villages of south Kashmir and north Kashmir in which warnings were issued to the elected panchayat members who were asked to resign.

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Chairman,Jamp;K Panchayat Conference,Shafiq Mir blamed both state and central governments for failing to provide security to the elected representatives. Many times we have written to the government regarding the security cover to the sarpanchs in sensitive areas but the state government remained mute spectator of the situation, he said.

Mir termed the killing as murder of democracy. If this trend continues all 40,000 elected panchs and sarpanchs of the state will have no other option but to resign en masse.