A BJP leader, who was a sarpanch in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, was shot dead by terrorists. The name of the deceased has been identified as Sajad Ahmad Khanday who was killed near his home in Kulgam. The BJP sarpanch was immediately rushed to a hospital in nearby Anantnag district after the attack where "he was declared brought dead", officials were quoted as saying by news agency PTI. No terror group has claimed responsibility for the gruesome act. The attack comes less than 48 hours after another BJP sarpanch - Arif Ahmad - was shot at in the same area.
Last month, BJP's Sheikh Waseem Bari, his father and brother were killed by terrorists in the union territory's Bandipore district. He was the district chief for Bandipore. Earlier, Kashmiri Pandit Ajay Pandita, a sarpanch from the south Kashmir Anantnag district, was killed by terrorists on June 8, 2020. In an attempt to give more power to sarpanchs, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has decided to spend Rs 1,700 crore to empower the newly constituted panchayats. Empowerment of sarpanchs will enable the locals to easily get access to the government welfare schemes.