Militants kill 2 teachers in Kashmir

Suspected anti-India militants shot dead two teachers in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said, taking to seven the number of people killed in the region in less than a week, AFP reported.

Anger has been simmering in the area since August 2019 when New Delhi scrapped its semi-autonomy and allowed all Indians to buy land in Kashmir, leaving locals fearing an influx of Hindus.

The gunmen barged into a government-run school in the Eidgah area of the main city of Srinagar, killing the pair, including the principal, on the spot. No students were present at the time.

The incident came two days after militants from a relatively new rebel group The Resistance Front (TRF) killed three civilians, including a prominent pharmacist, in three separate street shootings within 90 minutes.

The killings drew wide condemnation from politicians and on social media both within Kashmir and outside.

A statement attributed to the militant group issued Wednesday accused the slain men of collaborating with Indian security forces and said the pharmacist was a local ideologue of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The militaristic RSS is the parent organization of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

On Saturday two civilians were shot dead in a similar fashion in Srinagar, sending alarm bells ringing in the security establishment.

Police chief Dilbag Singh said the assailants would be caught soon.

“Killing innocent civilians including teachers is a move to attack and damage the age-old tradition of communal harmony and brotherhood in Kashmir,” Singh said at the school.

Officials say 25 people including workers with pro-India political parties have been killed by suspected rebels this year so far.