A panchayat head was killed by militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Friday, the police said.

The panchayat head has been identified as Manzoor Ahmad Bangroo. He was not affiliated to any political party.

The police said that Bangroo was attacked in the Goshburg area of Pattan town. Officials told PTI that he was taken to hospital, where he was declared dead.

The police have cordoned off the area and were searching for the suspected militants.

Initially, the police had said that Bangroo belonged to the Bharatiya Janata Party but later rectified the mistake, according to PTI.

Militants have been regularly targeting panchayat members, civilians and non-locals in the Union Territory.

On Wednesday, Satish Kumar Singh, a driver by profession, was killed by suspected militants in Shopian district. Singh is the seventh civilian to be attacked by suspected militants since April 2.

Last month, panchayat head Shabir Ahmad Mir was shot dead in Kulgam district. On March 9, Sameer Bhat, a panchayat head of the Peoples Democratic Party, was killed at his home in the Khonmoh area of Srinagar.

On March 2, another panchayat member was shot of the Kolpora area in Srinagar by the panchayat head. The deceased, Mohammad Yaqoob Dar, was an Independent panchayat member of the Sundoo village.

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