A civilian was killed and 14 were injured in an IED blast at Slathia Chowk in Jammu’s Udhampur town on Wednesday.
Officials said the blast took place at 12.50pm when people were busy making purchases from a roadside vegetable vendor. The IED was apparently placed underneath the cart of the vendor.
The Tehsildar office is located nearby but it is unclear whether it was the target.
A police officer said the injured were rushed to Udhampur district hospital where one of them succumbed to his wounds.
Videos showed vegetables and debris lying scattered as police officers investigated the crime scene.
Jammu additional director-general of police Mukesh Singh said preliminary investigations suggested it was an IED blast.
“At 12.15pm there was a sound of an explosion. The blast left 14 injured and one dead. Initial investigations reveal it was an IED explosion,” Singh told reporters.
“It appears it was a localised blast with not much impact.”
In the evening, militants shot dead a sarpanch, identified as Sameer Bhat, at Khonmoh on the outskirts of Srinagar.
A police officer said Bhat was lodged in a hotel near Srinagar city centre along with other panchayat members but had ventured out to visit his home in Khanmoh where he was shot.
The police said he was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.
Scores of panchayat and municipal representatives live in secured hotels in Srinagar or other urban centres to protect themselves from militant attacks.
The Resistance Front, a shadow outfit of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack on Bhat.