Principal, teacher gunned down in Kashmir, as fears of militant killings grow

Srinagar: Two school staff have been killed in the heart of urban Srinagar on Thursday in a series of murders committed by militants. Principal Supinder Kaur and Deepak Chand were both working at the Government Boys Higher Secondary School at Eidgah in downtown Srinagar. With these two murders, the death toll stands at 7.

The murders took place at the school where teachers had arrived to conduct online classes in the morning. Many fled the area as soon as the gunshots rang out. Speaking to reporters in the area, Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said the targeted killing of civilians, particularly minorities, in Kashmir is aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear and damaging age-old communal harmony.

On Tuesday, The Resistance Force, a shadow outfit of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the deaths of three people including a Kashmiri pundit who ran a prominent pharmacy in Srinagar. Makhan Lal Bindroo was shot dead in his own shop, while Virendra Paswan, a Bihari migrant, was gunned down minutes later. The third victim was Mohammad Shafi Lone who was killed at Naidkhai in Bandipora.

The succession of killings is the worst seen in Kashmir since the Indian government revoked Article 370 in 2019. About 30 civilians have been killed since January, experts noted.

"Another set of targeted killings, this time of two teachers in a Govt school in Eidgah area of the city. Words of condemnation are not enough for this inhuman act of terror but I pray for the souls of the deceased to rest in peace, National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said on Twitter.