SRINAGAR: A prominent Kashmiri Pandit businessman, who had not left the Valley even after the militancy erupted in 1990, was among three people killed by militants on Tuesday.
A police officer said militants targeted Makhan Lal Bindroo, the owner of Srinagar’s famous chemist shop Bindroo Medicate, at his pharmacy at Iqbal Park area in uptown Srinagar in the evening.
The militants fired from a point blank range, leaving Bindroo in a pool of blood, and escaped from the highly secured area.
Bindroo, 65, was rushed to the SMHS Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. SMHS medical superintendent Dr Kanwaljeet Singh told this newspaper that Bindroo was hit by four bullets.
“One of the bullets hit him on eyebrow,” he said.
Immediately after the militant attack, police, CRPF and army personnel rushed to the area and launched a combing and search operation.
The area where the attack took place is highly secured as police and paramilitary personnel remain stationed.
A police station is barely a few hundred meters away from the pharmacy and a paramilitary CRPF camp is also not far off.
Unlike others of his community, Bindroo had stayed back with his wife and operated his pharmacy. Bindroo Medicate is one-stop shop for patients as the medicines unavailable anywhere else can be found there.
An hour after Bindroo’s killing, militants shot dead a non-local street vendor at Lal Bazar area in downtown Srinagar.
The deceased, who was selling his ware in a handcart, was identified as Virender Paswan of Bhagalpur from Bihar.
In the third attack, militants shot dead a civilian in Hajin area of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district in the evening. Militants fired from blank range at Mohammad Shafi, a civilian, in Shahgund Hajin area.
He was also declared brought dead by doctors.
The killings drew widespread condemnations from all the political parties. J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha strongly condemned the killings and said perpetrators of these heinous acts would be brought to justice very soon.