Village headman shot dead in Kashmir

Srinagar, Sep 10 (IANS) A village sarpanch (headman) in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district was shot dead by separatist guerrillas Monday, police said.

A senior police officer said guerrillas fired from a close range at Ghulam Ahmad Yatoo, village sarpanch of Palhallan, a village on the Srinagar-Muzaffarbad highway in the district.

"Yatoo received a critical bullet injury in his head and succumbed while being shifted to hospital," the officer said.

Various guerrilla groups have been warning the village sarpanches to resign or face consequences. Scores of them have already resigned their posts following the threats.

Monday's attack came only two days after a special police officer (SPO) was killed and an army man wounded in a guerrilla shootout in Sopore town, 15 km from Palhallan.

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) guerrilla outfit had claimed responsibility for the attack.