Terrorists behind Kishtwar killings will be neutralised soon: Ram Madhav

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Tuesday said terrorists behind the killings of a senior party leader and his brother in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district would be neutralised soon.

BJP state secretary Anil Parihar and his brother Ajeet Parihar were shot dead on November 1 by suspected militants in a dark, narrow lane leading to their house. The brothers were fired upon from close range.

"Right now, our main challenge is to track down the terrorists (behind the killings) and neutralise them. That will be done very soon," Madhav told reporters in Kishtwar, 230 kilometres from here.

"That (neutralising terrorists) 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 focusing on that," he added.

Madhav, accompanied by Union ministers J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh and state BJP president Ravinder Raina, visited Kishtwar to pay homage to Parihar and his brother.

On November 5, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik had said those involved in the killings had been identified and will be brought to book soon.

"It has been proved that it was an incident of militancy," he had said, adding that it "was an act of frustration on the part of militants and Pakistan".

The Jammu and Kashmir government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the killings.

The SIT has been directed it to expedite the investigation and submit its report as early as possible. It has detained some persons in connection with the killings.