Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Satya Pal Malik, on Monday claimed that the killers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Anil Parihar and his elder brother Ajeet Parihar have been identified and would be exposed before the people soon.

The Parihar brothers were gunned down by unidentified assailants in home town Kishtwar, 214-km northeast of winter capital Jammu, on November 1, triggering protests by the BJP leader’s supporters and manhandling of senior police official by irate crowds. This prompted the authorities to impose curfew in the town and its neighbourhood which remained in force on the fifth day straight on Monday.

The Governor said that the murder of the BJP’s State secretary and his brother was aimed at disrupting the upcoming Panchayat elections in the State. “The investigations”, he said, “have revealed that the aim was to derail Panchayat elections but we will not allow it to happen.” He added, “We were worried that miscreants might seize the situation to disrupt peace and cause communal trouble in Kishtwar.”