Two of the four Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists shot down by security forces in separate shootouts on May 27, were said to be the killers of Kashmiri TV actress and singer Amreena Bhat. The 35-year-old television artiste, who was also very popular for her YouTube videos, was murdered in front of her house at Hushroo in the Chadoora area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district on May 25. The two who were identified as Amreena’s killers were new LeT recruits Shahid Mushtaq Bhat of Chadoora and Farhan Habib of Pulwama district, and they were killed in a shootout by a combined team of Jammu & Kashmir police, the army and the CRPF in a village at Awantipora, Pulwama.
The murder of Amreena drew widespread condemnation and outrage as she was reportedly targeted for acting and singing, both considered “immoral” by terrorist outfits and ultraconservative organisations.