The Jammu and Kashmir Police suspect Hizbul Mujahideen militants Osama Javed and Sajjad Khandey were responsible for the November 1 killings of state Bharatiya Janata Party Secretary Anil Parihar and his brother Ajit Parihar, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday. Javed is a resident of Dachhan in Kishtwar district while Khandey is from Pulwama.

Unidentified officials in the police department confirmed to Scroll.in that the murders have been linked to the militant group. Last week, Governor Satya Pal Malik said the state police have identified the suspected militants and action would soon be taken against them.

The Parihar brothers were gunned down on the evening of November 1 when they were on their way home.

Meanwhile, the police have detained two people, including a government employee, in connection with the murders, an unidentified senior police officer told the newspaper. Pervaiz Ahmed, who works with the state Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department, allegedly provided shelter to the militants at his property in Kishtwar. An overground worker of the Hizbul Mujahideen, identified as Riyaz, allegedly accompanied the militants from Dachhan to Kishtwar.

A team of the National Investigation Agency is in Kishtwar at present to help the state police with investigation in the case.

Meanwhile, BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav on Tuesday said the suspected militants behind the murders would soon be “neutralised”, reported PTI. “Right now, our main challenge is to track down the militants and neutralise them,” he said. “That will be done very soon.” Madhav, Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, and state BJP President Ravinder Raina had visited Kishtwar after the murders to pay tribute to the Parihar brothers.