20 panchayat members resign in Jammu & Kashmir citing threat to life

20 panches and sarpanches of Baramulla district quit on Sunday citing "threats to their lives" in the wake of fresh militant attacks on Panchayat members in Jammu and Kashmir.

The panches and sarpanches of Sopore area in the district announced their resignations in the presence of the media here.

"We fear for our lives...and are therefore resigning," said Manzoor Ahmad Rather, a sarpanch from Hardshiva Sopore.

As concerns mounted, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reviewed the security situation in the Valley against the backdrop of attacks on panchayat members.

The meeting, which lasted nearly two hours, discussed the area domination and sanitisation exercise carried out by security forces in vulnerable areas of the Valley, official sources said.

The Chief Minister directed the police to carry out speedy investigations into the attacks on panchayat members so that assailants can be brought to book.

Suspected militants on Friday shot dead a sarpanch, Habibullah Mir at Goripora village in Sopore town, 52 kms from here, while a woman panchayat member Zoonaa Begum was shot and injured inside her house at Hardshiva Sopore last night.

Panchayat members in Kashmir have been demanding security from the state government since last year after such similar incidents.