After Three Civilian Killings, Police Chief Asks Traders To Avoid Interior Areas

Director-General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh on Thursday asked transporters not to go into interior areas of South Kashmir after the killings of three civilians this week, PTI reported. In three separate attacks this week, a truck driver from Rajasthan, a laborer from Chhattisgarh, and an apple trader from Punjab were killed in Shopian and Pulwama districts of the state.

Singh said that traders in Shopian had been advised to use smaller vehicles for apple transportation from interiors of the district. They were also asked to bring the products to six pick-up points that had been “secured and identified” on the main roads.“We have increased security presence at these six points and urged transporters not to take trucks from outside (the state) into the interiors,” the police chief said.

Singh said militants had resorted to sending threatening letters, assaults, and intimidation before the apple season, but traders had links in other parts of the country and business was carried out irrespective of threats. Therefore, the police chief said, the militants were using other techniques.

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