Jammu: The All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) on Tuesday condemned the killing of a sarpanch by militants in Anantnag district, saying such “cowardly attacks would not deter it from strengthening democracy in the grassroots level of the region.

Ajay Pandita, a Kashmiri Pandit sarpanch of the Larkipora area in Anantnag district and member of the Congress party, was shot dead in his native village on Monday. His last rites were performed here on Tuesday morning.

The AJKPC reiterated its demand for security to its members and also advocated an adequate compensation to the family of the deceased.

“Pandita was a vice-president of AJKPC, Jammu zone, and had played a great role in strengthening the organisation. We see his killing as an attack on democracy and a direct fallout of the “frustration” among the militants due to “back-to-back successful operations” which resulted in the killing of nine militants in the past two days in Shopian district,” AJKPC president Anil Sharma told reporters here.

Sharma said they would not be cowed down by “such dastardly acts”.
He said they had lost 18 members to militant attacks so far but “will not succumb and will continue to work for strengthening democracy at the grassroots level in Jammu and Kashmir”.

Sharma urged the government to provide an ex-gratia relief of Rs 20 lakh to the next of kin of the slain sarpanch.

Press Trust of India