The nomination papers of 35 candidates including that of jailed separatist Sarjan Barkati were on Wednesday rejected during scrutiny for the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving 244 contestants in the fray.
This is a third attack on non-local labourers in Kashmir in the past one week.
Two persons from Uttar Pradesh were shot at by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district on Friday evening, officials said.
Jammu and Kashmir is facing a severe water crisis this year due to a massive rainfall deficit. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concern about the situation and called for a proactive approach towards water management and conservation. The state has witnessed an 80% deficit in rainfall this year, raising the possibility of drought in the valley this summer. Several water bodies are flowing below the zero level mark, and some springs in south Kashmir have dried up completely. The water level in Jhelum and other major streams is alarmingly low.
In a major breakthrough, security forces killed Jaish-e-Mohammed commander Vilayat Hussain Lone in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district on Monday, taking the death toll of the ultras in the three-day operation to two.
The operation was going on till last reports came in.
A turnout of about 59 percent -- the highest in the past seven elections -- was recorded in the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer P K Pole said, adding polling passed off peacefully.
The gunned-down terrorists have been identified as Abid Wagay, a resident of Rawalpora Shopian, and Shahjahan Mir, hailing of Amshepora Shopian, a police spokesman said.
A police spokesperson said two of the four recent cases of target killings in Srinagar and Bandipora have been solved with the elimination of the terrorists involved in these incidents.
Terrorists struck at two places in Kashmir on Saturday night, killing a former sarpanch in Shopian and injuring a tourist couple from Rajasthan in Anantnag, two days ahead of Lok Sabha elections in Baramulla.
Security forces launched a search operation at Sugan village in Zainapora Tuesday evening following information about the presence of terrorists.
The hiding terrorists opened fire at the security forces, who retaliated, triggering a gun battle.
Two AK rifles and one INSAS rifle have been recovered from the spot.
Relatives of the three youths, belonging to Dhar Sakri village in Kotranka of Rajouri area in Poonch, had lodged a written missing persons report in the local police station after they lost contact with them on July 17. The three were working as labourers in apple and walnut orchards in Amshipura.
A voter turnout of 69.69 percent was recorded in the third and final phase of voting Tuesday in the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission said.
The army said on Friday it has completed the Summary of Evidence against two of its men involved in July's Amshipura encounter in Shopian district.
The army has begun its probe and recorded statements in connection with last month's encounter in Shopian area of South Kashmir after families in Rajouri area of Jammu region filed a complaint with the Jammu and Kashmir police about its members missing from the same region.
Two soldiers who were critically wounded in Thursday's terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg succumbed to their injuries, raising the death toll in the ambush to four.
Police on Saturday detained Opposition Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti as she was heading towards Shopian district where four persons were killed in CRPF firing last week.
The three youths, Mohammad Imtiyaz and Ibrar Ahmed, residents of Kathuni mohalla of Dharsakri village of Rajouri, and Mohammad Ibrar, a resident of Tarkassi village of Rajouri, had left their homes on the pretext of working as labourers in Shopian and went out of contact with their families on July 17.
They said the terrorists opened fire on the vehicle at Botapathri near Nagin post.
A large number of civilians rushed towards the encounter site at Kundullan and started pelting stones at security personnel.
Curfew remained in force for the second day on Monday in parts of Shopian district in south Kashmir following killing of four persons in a firing incident on Saturday.
A terrorist who involved in a firing incident on Wednesday night has been killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, the police said on Thursday.
Four Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT) terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces on Monday in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
Munna Lahori, a Pakistani national, was also responsible for a series of civilian killings in Kashmir, a police official said.
The official said five civilians received bullet injuries in the cross-firing near the gunfight site.
A civilian was killed in a firing incident at Ganowpora, while two others sustained injuries, a police official said.
The terrorists opened fire on the camp housing labourers of a private company working on construction of a tunnel Gund area in the district, officials said.
On a specific input, the security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Reban area of south Kashmir district, a police spokesperson said.
Asked whether the three men were indeed labourers, as claimed by their families, and not involved in terrorist activities, the J-K Police said it is a matter of further investigation. On July 18, the Army had claimed three terrorists were killed in Amshipura village in the higher reaches of south Kashmir's Shopian.
The PDP and the NC condemned the killing of the special police officer.
Jammu and Kashmir police on Tuesday said an investigation stands instituted in the killing of three local youth in south Kashmir's Shopian town on Saturday 'to unravel the truth and circumstances' of the incident.
A cordon-and-search operation was launched at Rakhama village in the district in the morning following information about the presence of militants in the area, a police spokesperson said.
The NSA, accompanied by his aides and senior police officers, visited the Eidgah locality and stopped at various places to interact with locals.
Two soldiers were also injured in the encounter.
On May 18, 2024 night, terrorists struck at two places in Kashmir killing a former sarpanch, Aijaz Sheikh in Shopian and injuring a tourist couple from Rajasthan in Anantnag.
This was the first general election in the valley after the abrogation of Article 370 and the enactment of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the EC said in a statement.
The Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency in Jammu and Kashmir will vote on Monday, May 20.
Captain Bhoopendra Singh had also provided wrong information to his superiors and the police about the recovery made during the staged encounter, the charge sheet filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police before the chief judicial magistrate in Shopian said.
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