Following killings of RSS leader Chandrakant Sharma and his bodyguard Rajinder Kumar on Tuesday, curfew remained imposed in Kishtwar and Bhadarwah towns on Wednesday.

Kishtwar deputy commissioner Angrez Singh Rana said, “Curfew is on in Kishtwar town. The situation is tense but peaceful. No untoward incident has been reported from anywhere. Army, paramilitary and police forces remain deployed in the town to maintain law and order.”

He also informed that soon after the attack on RSS leader and his bodyguard, a crackdown was launched to trace the attackers.

Another official from Bhaderwah informed that the curfew remained imposed on Wednesday in Bhaderwah town as a precautionary measure.

The 50-year-old RSS leader Chandrakant Sharma, who worked as a pharmacist in Kishtwar district hospital, and his bodyguard Rajinder Kumar were shot dead by the suspected militants, who barged into the district hospital at around 12.30 pm on Tuesday and started firing indiscriminately.

Before fleeing from the spot, the attacker snatched PSO’s weapon. The number of militants involved in the incident has not yet been revealed.

Sharma’s last rites were performed on Wednesday afternoon at a cremation ground in Kishtwar.

The incident sparked protests at various places in the town, including outside the hospital, as the leader was a resident of the town.

Sanatan Dharam Sabha Doda has called for a bandh in Kishtwar on Wednesday.

RSS youth activists staged protests at Rehari Chowk, Jewel Chowk and Bus Stand in the heart of Jammu city, demanding identification of the culprits and severe punishment to them.

Meanwhile, Dogra Swabhimaan Sanghthan leader Choudhary Lal Singh was detained by police in Doda on Wednesday.

A spokesman of the Sanghthan said that Lal Singh, who was on his way to attend the last rites of the RSS leader, was arrested by Doda deputy commissioner DS Dattatray at the behest of BJP.

“He was not allowed to attend the cremation, while other politicians from BJP were allowed. It is blatant misuse of power and government machinery for political gains,” said the spokesman.

However, a top police officer from Doda district said that the leader was taken into preventive custody because of the volatile situation in Kishtwar.

“He was on way for campaigning in Budhna area in a motorcade of around 10 vehicles. Probably, he wanted to attend the cremation, which was not allowed by the administration in view of tense situation in Kishtwar,” he said.

A BJP rebel, Lal Singh is contesting from both the parliamentary seats of Jammu and Udhampur that will go to polls on April 11 and April 18 respectively.

First Published: Apr 10, 2019 13:47 IST