Curfew relaxed briefly in J&K's Kishtwar

Authorities on Monday relaxed for three hours the curfew imposed in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar township following the killing of a senior BJP leader and his brother by suspected militants on Thursday night.

The local administration had given area-wise relaxation in the township for two hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday.

This is for the first time in the past five days that the curfew was relaxed for three hours on trial basis in the entire township, District Development Commissioner, Kishtwar, Angrez Singh Rana, told PTI.

He said the relaxation was given from 2-5 pm and it passed peacefully.

The law and order situation is returning to normal and no untoward incident has been reported in the district, he said.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik said Monday that those involved in the killing of BJP state secretary Anil Parihar and his brother Ajeet have been identified.

On November 1, the Parihar brothers were returning home after closing their stationery shop when gunmen fired at them in Tappal Gali area, following which an indefinite curfew was imposed in parts of Kishtwar and Doda districts.

The curfew was lifted from Doda district including the main town and Bhadarwah along with Paddar and Chatroo sub-divisions of Kishtwar district on Saturday, but Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code continued to remain in force in these areas as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.

The killing of the Parihar brothers triggered massive protests across the Jammu region following which authorities suspended internet services in the curfew-bound areas, while the internet speed was slowed down in the rest of the division, including the winter capital Jammu.

However, the internet speed was restored to normal in Jammu and other parts of the division Saturday evening.

The Army had staged a flag march in sensitive areas to assist the district administration in Kishtwar to maintain law and order.

Meanwhile, a BJP delegation led by national vice president Avinash Rai Khanna Monday visited Parihar's house to express condolences with the bereaved family.

Khanna asked authorities to strengthen the security of the family and also to the local leaders of the party, a BJP spokesman said.