Curfew continues for fifth day in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district

Curfew continued for the fifth consecutive day in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar town Monday which was imposed following the killing of a senior BJP leader and his brother by suspected militants, officials said.

However, the curfew was relaxed in the district for two hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday, they said.

District Development Commissioner, Kishtwar, Angrez Singh Rana told PTI that the curfew continued to remain imposed Monday and relaxations, if any, will be decided later in the day.

He said the law and order situation is normal and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the district.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik said on Monday that those involved in the killing of BJP state secretary Anil Parihar and his brother Ajeet have been identified.

On November 1, Anil and Ajeet Parihar were returning home after closing their stationery shop when the gunmen fired at them in Tappal Gali area, following which an indefinite curfew was imposed in parts of Kishtwar and Doda districts.

The curfew was, however, lifted from Doda district, including the main town and Bhadarwah along with Paddar and  Chatroo sub-divisions of Kishtwar district on Saturday, but Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) continued to remain in force in these areas as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.

The killing of Parihar brothers triggered massive protests across the Jammu region following which authorities suspended internet services in the curfew-bound areas, while the internet speed was slowed down in the rest of the division, including the winter capital Jammu.

However, the internet speed was restored in Jammu and  other parts of the division Saturday evening.

The Army had also staged a flag march in the sensitive areas to help the district administration in Kishtwar maintain law and order.