Rampal Singh | HENB | Kabul | Dec 29, 2016:: A prominent Sikh leader in the restive Afghan city of Kunduz was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Thursday in a very Talibani style, the latest in a string of attacks targeting the minority Hindu-Sikh community whose members have left the country in droves.
Lala Del Souz, a naturopath, was gunned down in Haji Gulistan Kochi Haman area of Kunduz at 9 am, Tolo News channel reported. He was reportedly on his way to his shop when the shooting occurred.
Del Souz, who headed the Sikh community of Kunduz succumbed to his injuries while being taken to hospital, said Naeem Mangal, the chief of the regional hospital.
Eyewitnesses said that the gunmen engaged in the shooting sported caps written with Jihadi inscriptions of terrorist outfits and they shouted, “Allah-ho-Akbar” while in action.
Kunduz security chief Masoum Stanikzai confirmed the incident and said police had arrested three suspects. Investigations will continue, he added.
Prem, Del Souz’s uncle, said his nephew was well liked and had no enemies. Other relatives said Del Souz was shot five years ago but survived. Prem asked the government to investigate the killing and make sure those responsible were brought to justice. He said if this does not happen, the few remaining Sikhs will “sell up and leave” Kunduz province.
This was the second killing of a Sikh man since October, when Sardar Rawail Singh was abducted from his home and gunned down by suspected Talibani militants wearing military fatigues in the restive Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan.
No group including the anti-government armed Jihadi militant groups have commented regarding the incident so far. But, the modus operandi of the attack pointed the responsibility on the Talibani outfits who always attack the minority or their opposition people at slightest chance.
According to the relatives of the deceased, a similar attack aimed to assassinate him took place nearly five years ago but then escaped the attack unharmed.
They added that Dilsuz did not have any personal enmity with any individual and succumbed to his injuries very fast due to profuse bleeding after shot by the Jihadi gunmen.
Kunduz is among the relatively volatile provinces in northern Afghanistan where the anti-government armed militants have been openly operating in its various districts and often carry out insurgency activities.
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