Unidentified gunmen on Tuesday shot dead an activist of separatist Tahreek-e-Hurriyat (TeK) in Sopore town of north Kashmir. The incident took place two weeks after gunmen shot dead two locals associated with telecommunication business in order to enforce ban on mobile telephony.
The TeK is headed by hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani who enjoys significant support base in Sopore. Geelani had described lashkar-e-Islam, the outfit that claimed responsibility for killing two civilians and hurling grenades on mobile towers, as a front of Indian intelligence agencies.
However, lashkar resented the version and described itself as a “genuine anti-India militant outfit working for Kashmir’s freedom from India”.
Sources said that gunmen shot at Mohammad Altaf Sheikh at New Colony Sopore, 55 kilometers from here when he was returning home after working night shift in a local hospital. He was immediately shifted to hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. He had received bullets in head and chest.
locals said that Sheikh’s father is a senior functionary of Jamaat-e-Islami while he was an active aide of Geelani. He has been in the forefront of anti-India demonstrations in the area. No militant organisation has claimed responsibility for his killing.
Geelani alleged that secret agencies were responsible for Sheikh’s killing and called for a complete shutdown on Wednesday in Baramulla district of north Kashmir. He described the killing as “cold blooded murder of Sheikh at the hands of Indian agencies”.
Eyewitnesses said people in large numbers assembled outside the hospital and shouted anti-Government slogans.
Police said a murder case has been registered and investigations have been taken up to trace the suspected militants. Meanwhile, Hizbul Mujhadeen has condemned the killing and declared it a conspiracy.