Jammu: A shopkeeper was shot dead by suspected militants who had kidnapped him from his home in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, police said Tuesday.

Farid Ahmad was abducted by unidentified gunmen late Monday from Bharat village in Jammu's Doda district and taken to an abandoned house where he killed, police said, adding that it appeared to be the handiwork of militant organisations like the Hizbul Mujahedeen or the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) that are active in the area.

The motive was unclear but it appeared that it was aimed at terrorising people in the run up the assembly elections, said a police official.

On Monday, posters by the LeT had come up outside mosques in the area asking people to "boycott elections or face the consequences". Police had removed the posters.

Elections in the state are being held over seven phases that began Nov 17 and end Dec 24. The two assembly seats in Doda go to the polls on Dec 17, in the sixth round. The first two phases have seen a high voter turnout of more than 60 percent.

 

Source : IANS