Target killings of 3 civilians trigger shock waves in Indian Kashmir

Srinagar, India, Oct 6 (EFE).- Unknown assailants have fatally shot three civilians, including a prominent chemist from the minority Hindu community, in India-administered Kashmir, in an incident that sent shock waves across the region on Wednesday.

Police said the latest spate of “targeted” killings in the disputed Himalayan valley took place on Tuesday evening within one hour, and blamed militants fighting against Indian rule for the targeted civilian killings.

A police statement said “terrorists” fired upon ML Bindroo, 68, from point-blank range inside his medicine shop in the main business hub of Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir.

“He was shifted to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries,” the police said.

Bindroo ran his pharmaceutical store in a highly secure zone, housing a security base, which acts as a nerve center for anti-insurgency operations.

Within hours of the attack, graphic pictures and videos went viral on social media, showing Bindroo lying still, in a crawling position, on the roadside with blood profusely oozing from his head.

About 30 minutes later, armed men struck in a congested Downtown area of Lal Bazar in Srinagar, killing a non-local street food vendor from the eastern state of Bihar.

Police identified him as Virender Paswan, who sold “Paani Puri,” a traditional Indian snack on his handcart.

In the third incident on Tuesday night, militants fatally shot a taxi driver, Mohammad Shafi Lone, in the northern Hajin area.

Lone headed a local group of passenger cab drivers.