J&K: Hizbul terrorists and a govt official under scanner for killing BJP leader

Jammu, Nov 14: The details emerging following the investigations into the killing of a BJP leader in Jammu and Kashmir suggest increasingly about a well planned hit job. While the perpetrators of the crime have been identified as the Hizbul Mujahideen.

Anil Parihar, the BJP's J&K unit secretary and his brother were gunned down in Kishtwar town of Jammu division on November 1, when they were returning home from work.

The killers have been identified as Osama Javed and Sajjad Khandey from Kishtwar and Pulwama respectively. The police also say that another Hizbul Mujahideen operative Riyaz had accompanied the other two terrorists, while killing the BJP leader.

In addition to this, the police have also detained for questioning a government employee on the allegation that he had aided the terrorists. The police say that a large network of people are involved in the killing. The idea was to create communal tension in the Valley.

A Special Investigation Team had been constituted to probe the case. The police had detained two personal security officials -- Om Prakash and Sahil Kumar. The two were not with the leader at the time of the incident. The tragedy could have been averted had the officials been with him, the police said.

There are several aspects to the ongoing probe. The police suspect that this could have been an act of terror ahead of the November 17 panchayat elections. Various reports have suggested that Pakistan and its terrorists would up the ante. Moreover several terror groups have been trying to target and disrupt the elections. The J&K administration had said that Pakistan is particularly upset that the election process is underway and was also successfully completed where the urban local body polls were concerned.

Following the killing the Army was told to be on standby. The police were expecting violent protests and as a precautionary measure, imposed curfew in the Muslim majority town. The police say that it would be too early to comment on the motive, but according to divisional commissioner of Jammy, Sanjeev Verma, it was a subversive attack.