Sarpanch shot dead by militants in Kashmir

Militants shot at and killed a Sarpanch (village headman) in Gulzarpora village of south Kashmir Pulwama district, part of the Anantnag parliamentary constituency which goes to polls on April 24. A senior police officer said militants fired at Sarpanch Mohammad Amin Pandit outside his house in Gulzarpora village near the highway town of Awantipore late on Thursday evening.

“Pandit succumbed to injuries before he could be shifted to hospital,” the officer said.

After the Panchayati polls were held here in 2011, several sarpanches and panches have been targeted by the militants since.

Authorities have refused to provide individual security to the elected village representatives despite demands maintaining that thousands of security personnel would be needed for this purpose.