Militants target outsiders in Kashmir Most non-locals had left Kashmir after the August 5 decisions but some have returned since

A paramilitary soldier stands guard near the site of a gunbattle in Bijbehara, south of Srinagar, on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019.

Muzaffar Raina, TT, 17 October 2019, Srinagar: Two non-Kashmiris have fallen to the bullets of militants within 48 hours of the murder of a Rajasthani trucker when some people have started trickling back to the Valley.

Gunmen shot dead Sethi Sahas Sagar, a 29-year-old labourer from Chhattisgarh, who was working at a brick kiln in Pulwama in south Kashmir.

Officials said the militants stopped Sagar and his nephew while they were on their way to see a doctor. The nephew was not harmed.

In adjoining Shopian, Charanjit Singh, an apple trader from Punjab, was killed and Sanjiv Kumar, also a trader from Punjab, was injured. On Monday evening, militants had shot dead the Rajasthani truck driver, Sharif Khan.

Most non-locals had left Kashmir after the August 5 decisions but some have returned since.

The security forces on Wednesday arrested Hayat Bhat, considered the face of the protests against the scrapping of the state’s special status.