Ram Madhav: Terrorists who killed BJP leader will soon be eliminated

Ram Madhav

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) General Secretary Ram Madhav said on Tuesday that state party leader Anil Parihar and his brother were murdered by terrorists who will soon be eliminated.

Accompanied by Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda and Minister of State Jitendra Singh, Ram Madhav visited Kishtwar town on Tuesday to pay homage to the slain BJP leader and his brother.

On November 1, Anil Parihar and his brother Ajeet Parihar were killed by militants while they were returning home in Kishtwar town after closing their stationery shop in the evening.

Ram Madhav told reporters: "Right now our main challenge is to track down the militants behind the killings and neutralize them. That will be done very soon.

"That is the important thing here. Of course, we will not allow these kinds of activities to create instability and violence in Kishtwar or Doda, the peaceful areas of Jammu region. That is our priority and we are focussing on that."

A special investigating team (SIT) set up by the government to probe the murder had already got leads pointing to the militants who carried out the murder.

The SIT has detained the security guard of Anil Parihar who did not accompany him when the BJP leader was killed.

It has also detained a contractor who is believed to have carried the two militants to Kishtwar town before the murder.

A witness who confirmed where the two militants stayed in the town has also been questioned by the SIT.

Preliminary investigations suggest that one of the two militants involved in the crime belonged to south Kashmir's Pulwama district while the other is from Dachan area of Kishtwar district.