Another Truck Driver Shot Dead By Terrorists In Kashmir's Bijbehara, Fourth Case Since August 5

A truck driver was killed by suspected terrorists on Monday in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district, the police said, a day before a delegation of European Union MPs visits the Valley. Narayan Dutt, a resident of Katra in Udhampur district, was fired upon by the terrorists in the evening in the Kanilwan area of Bijbehara in the south Kashmir district, a police official said. Dutt died on the spot, he added.

Dutt is the fourth truck driver to be killed by terrorists since August 5 when the Centre abrogated Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 and split the state into two Union Territories.

The attack comes a day before the visit by the delegation of 27 European Union MPs to the state.

The delegation seeks to talk to locals and ask them about their experience after the Centre's decisions. The government has said the diplomatic outreach will allow EU leaders to "see things for themselves" in Kashmir and help it counter Pakistan's narrative.

Dutt's killing follows a series of attacks by terrorists on truck drivers and non-locals.

On October 24, terrorists killed two non-Kashmiri truck drivers in Shopian district when they had gone to ferry loads of apples.

On October 14, two terrorists, including a suspected Pakistani national, shot dead the driver of a truck having Rajasthan registration number and assaulted an orchard owner in Shopian district. The driver was identified as Sharief Khan.

Two days later, Punjab-based apple trader Charanjeet Singh was killed and Sanjeev injured when terrorists attacked them in Shopian district.

The same day, a brick kiln worker from Chhattisgarh was shot dead by terrorists in Pulwama district.

(With PTI inputs)