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A village sarpanch was gunned down by unidentified militants in north Kashmir's Baramulla district on Monday evening.
Militants shot from a close range at Ghulam Ahmad Yatoo, sarpanch of Palhallan village located on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, said a senior police official.
"Yatoo received a critical head injury and died instantly," the officer said.
Senior police officers rushed to the spot and the area was searched.
Various militant groups have been issuing threats to village sarpanches, asking them to resign their posts or face the consequences.
Scores of sarpanches have resigned in the wake of the threats and some even publicised their resignations through paid advertisements in leading local dailies.
The killing of the sarpanch in Palhallan came only two days after militants gunned down a special police officer and critically wounded an army trooper in nearby Sopore town.
The Lashkar-e-Tayiba has claimed responsibility for the Sopore attack.