Village defence committee member kills woman, child in Jammu's Rajouri

Jammu: A village defence committee (VDC) member on Thursday allegedly killed a woman and her minor son in Rajouri district of Jammu region.

"VDC member Mushtaq Ahmad of Mohra Dhaveen village forced entry into Shameen Akhtar's house and fired at her and her four-year-old son Tawheed Ahmad," a senior police officer said.

Both succumbed to critical bullet injuries.

The VDC member was arrested after a murder case was lodged against him.

On December 20, National Conference's youth leader Ishtiyaq Chowdhary was murdered allegedly by a VDC member in the same district.

VDCs were formed in mid-90s in Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir by providing firearms and training to villagers to combat militancy.

Though demands for disbanding VDCs have grown after many VDC members were involved in criminal acts, deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh has ruled it out.