Militants on Tuesday night gunned down Ghulam [Images] Hassan Laway, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) activist, inside his house at Chowalgam in Anantnag district, official sources said.

They added that the militants were looking for Laway's daughter-in-law Shameema who was recently elected as a councillor to Kulgam Municipal Committee.

After the recent Jammu and Kashmir [Images] polls, three councillors were killed. Following this, 10 newly elected members announced their resignations on February 11 fearing a threat to their lives. Even National Conference members threatened to resign en masse from Srinagar [Images] Municipal Corporation if the state failed to protect them.

The sources claim that since Shameema was not at home the gunmen shot Laway.

A hunt has been launched to nab the militants, the sources said. No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the incident yet.

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J&K: 3 killings & 10 resignations