Srinagar: A Kashmiri pandit was shot dead by suspected militants in Pulwama on Sunday morning.
Sanjay Sharma, who is a security guard at ATM hailing from Achan village, Pulwama, has become the first victim of the militant attacks on Kashmir Pandits since October.
Sharma was rushed to the hospital where he succumbed to injuries, according to The Indian Express.
The Kashmir zone police tweeted that terrorists shot at 'civilian from minority namely Sanjay Sharma’ while he was on the way to local market.
The tweet further said that the victim was immediately taken to hospital but succumbed to injuries.
Following the incident, the police, army and paramilitary forces cordoned off the area to arrest the militants.
The valley witnessed a series of attacks on Kashmiri Pandits and other minority communities since the abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.
Most notably in October last year Kashmiri Pandit farmer Puran Krishan Bhat was shot dead by militants in Chowdhary Gund village of Shopian.
Subsequently there started a fresh wave of migration of minorities from the valley to Jammu.
Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS), an organization of Kashmiri Pandits, condemned Sunday’s killing alongside blaming the government for it.
“Shame on MANOJ SINHA. Yet another Non-Migrant kashmiri pandit was working as guard at ATM. Near his residence at Achan Pulwama survived by his wife and two Children,” tweeted Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS).