Jammu/Srinagar, September 19
A teacher and a student were gunned down when militants barged into a school at Jamala village in Mahore tehsil of Udhampur district this morning.

The police said that the teacher, Deep Chand, and the Class X student, Piyara Singh, died on the spot. Panic gripped the school staff and students rushed inside the building. The militants fled the school after killing the two.

A special police team has been constituted to investigate the incident.

Official sources said the militants separated students and teachers belonging to the minority community from the rest before firing on students and teachers belonging to the minority community.

Meanwhile, two BJP candidates had a narrow escape when militants attacked their motorcade in south Kashmir last evening.

In other militancy related incidents, an ultra was among three persons killed and seven persons, including four security personnel, were injured in the Kashmir valley overnight.

Militants attacked the motorcade of H.K. Koul and Ghulam Mohammad Shah, BJP candidates from Wachi and Rajpora constituencies, respectively, at Litter in Pulwama district which goes to the polls on October 1 in the third phase of the Jammu and Kashmir elections.

The security guards of Mr Koul and Mr Shah returned the fire and the exchange continued for some time.

Mr Koul and Mr Shah escaped unhurt in the attack and the militants escaped under the cover of darkness.

Ultras triggered a powerful IED blast near the State Bank of India branch at Gulshan Park, Bandipora, about 100 km from here this afternoon.

Six security personnel and four civilians were injured in the blast, sources said.

The injured were admitted to different hospitals where the condition of two of them is stated to be critical.

Security forces gunned down a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant Nasir Hussain Shah, alias Abu Moosa, in an encounter at Matihindi Kokernag in the south Kashmir district of Anantnag, last night. One AK rifle, two magazines and 12 rounds were recovered from the slain militant. One security jawan was also injured in the shootout.

An official spokesman said militants abducted and later killed Mohammad Ashraf and Shabn Lohar at Sewa Chatroo last night. In another 30-hour encounter between a group of militants and the security forces in the Katarmal area of Rajouri district, five Armymen and two militants were killed and two soldiers wounded till this morning.

In two other incidents, security forces eliminated two militants, one at Gulmarg and the other in the Kokernag area of the Kashmir valley. The security forces foiled a major Subversion plan of the militants ny defusing 20 kg RDX explosive material planted on a road in the Kishtwar area of Doda district.

Alert security forces foiled an exfiltration bid when they arrested six boys who were being taken to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) for receiving arms training.