A municipality committee vice-president affiliated to the BJP, who was abducted by unidentified persons in Baramulla on Wednesday morning, was rescued later in the day by the police.
“The abducted BJP leader has been rescued,” Inspector-General Police of Kashmir Vijay Kumar told The Hindu late in the evening. The details of the rescue operation were not given but the police said militants were behind the abduction of Mehrajuddin Malla.
Earlier in the day, BJP spokesman Altaf Thakur said: “BJP leader Mehrajuddin Malla was walking on the road, outside his residence, when a vehicle stopped and unknown men bundled him in. The kidnappers threw his cell phone on the road.” Following the abduction, an alert was sounded in Sopore.
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Mr. Malla is the vice-president of the Watergam-Sopore municipal committee. He is also the son of senior BJP leader Ghulam Muhammad Malla, who has been associated with the party since 2012.
A Lashkar-e-Taiba 'commander' Sajjad alias Haider in north Kashmir, in a audio message uploaded on Tuesday, had warned of action against BJP leaders, a police official said.
The family members have appealed to the kidnappers to release him “for being sole support of the family”.
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The police said it was investigating the matter. “A manhunt has been launched,” a senior police official said.
Meanwhile, an alert has been sounded in Sopore after the abduction.
The abduction comes just eight days after militants killed BJP district president Wasim Bari, his father and brother in Bandipora.
In another development, the BJP vice-president for Kupwara, Asif Ahmad, on Tuesday resigned from the party. “I did not join the BJP to make money but to work for my people. We are not allowed to work by officials. The BJP has no value on the ground,” Mr. Ahmad said.
Last week, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha president from Baramulla, Marouf Bhat, also resigned after the Bandipora attack. “I have resigned from the BJYM as a member and any post I held as part of it,” Mr. Bhat said.