A former village Sarpanch associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost his life, and a couple visiting from Jaipur were wounded in separate terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday night.
Incidentally, the attacks came just a couple of days before the militancy-ravaged Union Territory's Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency goes to polls on May 20. However, as of press time, there was no official confirmation if the two assaults were linked to the elections.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police reported on X (previously known as Twitter) that "Terrorists targeted and injured a woman named Farha and her husband Tabres in Yannar, Anantnag. They were rushed to a hospital for medical attention. The area has been sealed off. More information will be provided in due course."
In a subsequent attack that took place within 30 minutes of the first, former village head Aijaz Sheikh was shot dead in Hirpora, Shopian, around 10:30 pm, as per official reports.
The BJP, in a statement, referred to Sheikh as a "courageous warrior" of the party in J&K and expressed solidarity with his family.
Ex-Chief Ministers Mehbooba Mufti, Farooq, and Omar Abdullah denounced the terrorist attacks. PDP leader Mufti is vying for the Anantnag seat, while NC vice-president Omar Abdullah is contesting from Baramulla.
Mufti expressed concern over the timing of the attacks, stating on X: "The timing, considering the unexplained delay of the southern election, is worrisome. This is particularly true in light of the Government of India's claims of normalcy."
In the Union Territory, three of the five Lok Sabha seats located in the Jammu region have already voted in the first two phases. In the Kashmir Valley, Srinagar has also voted in the fourth phase (May 13), and Baramulla and Anantnag-Rajouri are scheduled to vote in the fifth and sixth phases, respectively.
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