In a fatal terror attack, BJP leader Rakesh Pandita of South Kashmir's Pulwama district was yesterday shot dead by terrorists while he was visiting a friend in Pulwama, Srinagar. Terrorists for over a year now have been targeting senior BJP leaders in the valley and the shocking incident of another assassination in broad daylight has brought strong criticism from across the country. The LG of J&K, Manoj Sinha while expressing deep shock over the killing has said that "Terrorists will never succeed in their nefarious designs, and those responsible for such heinous acts shall be brought to justice". Terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba has claimed the responsibility of the killing, according to few reports although it needs to be ascertained. Meanwhile, the body of Rakesh Pandita, who was a Municipal Councillor of Tral is being taken for last rites. He reportedly sustained multiple bullet injuries in the terrorist attack and was shifted to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

 

This is exactly a year after Kashmiri Pandit Sarpanch Ajay Pandita was killed by the terrorists in Kashmir that another Kashmiri Pandit Rakesh Pandita, Municipal Committee Chief in Tral has been killed by terrorists. Pandita was attacked by three terrorists on Wednesday late evening while he was visiting a friend in Pulwama. While he was given security but Pandita reportedly didn’t carry PSO along when he went to meet a friend in Tral, where the fatal attack took place. If few reports are to go by, Pakistani terror group LeT front organizations have claimed responsibility for the killing of Rakesh Pandita, a BJP leader and also a Kashmiri Pandit.

 

 

Meanwhile, the killing of Rakesh Pandita, a democratically elected councillor, who was also a Kashmiri Hindu, not only exposes Pakistan backed radical Islamists who want to threaten and target elected members and social activists of the valley by such cowardly acts, but it also raises concerns for the many, eagerly waiting to return to their ancestral land. Doesn't it?