Srinagar: A wave of attacks in south Kashmir over the past week led to the killing of the lone bread-earner of a family. Six more persons have been injured, raising questions about the government’s claims of ‘normalcy’ in the union territory.Unidentified gunmen shot Imran Yusuf, 25, a resident of Moonu locality in central Kashmir’s Chrari Sharief, when he was out on a routine patrol in a forest in Sangerwani area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Tuesday (July 18) night.A family member said that the victim was rushed to a local hospital. Doctors at the hospital referred him to Srinagar for specialised treatment where he succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday, “He had suffered a lethal bullet injury in his thigh. By the time he was taken to hospital, he had lost a lot of blood,” the family member said.Jahangir Ahmed Chechi, a forester who was part of the patrolling party, was injured in the shooting but his condition is reported to be stable. The J&K Police said it was a “terror crime” but didn’t specify the details of those involved in the shooting.“During the search of the scene of crime, two empty fired cartridges of Ak-47 ammunition and one bullet head was recovered from the spot. However, the search operation is going on,” said a police statement, adding that a case has been filed under Sections 16 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 302 of Indian Penal Code and 7/27 Arms Act.As the news of his death broke, a pall of gloom descended in the area with hundreds of people, including government officials, visiting the residence to express solidarity with his family.The victim was working as a casual worker in J&K’s forest department. He is survived by his ailing parents – his father, Mohd Yusuf Wani, has an injured spine – and an unmarried sister. His other, older sister and elder brother are both married and they live separately.“I told him to stay back and not go out at night. But he refused, saying that some timber smugglers were planning to cut down trees in the forest and he had to stop them. We don’t know who killed him or why but his death has robbed us of our only support in old age,” Yusuf, Imran’s father, told The Wire over the phone.The attack took place barely hours after two migrant workers were shot by suspected terrorists in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Tuesday evening. Officials said that the victims – identified as Akshay, 20, and Saurav, 20, both residents of Maharashtra’s Sangli – survived the attack and their condition was stable.Last week, three migrant workers were shot and injured in a similar attack in Gagren village of the adjoining Shopian district on July 13 evening. The victims, identified as Anmol Kumar, Pintu Kumar and Heeralal Yadav, residents of Supaul in Bihar, suffered bullet injuries.“They are presently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Srinagar. Their condition is stable,” said an official in the J&K administration who didn’t want to be named.Following the attack, the J&K Police had shunted out Station House Officer of Shopian police station, Ghulam Jeelani Bhat, and an inquiry was ordered. “In view of the incident….., Inspector Gh Jeelani Bhat (AWP) (SHO P/S Shopian) PID No ARP-109258, is attached to RPHQ Anantnag pending inquiry,” an order by J&K Police stated.J&K National Conference leader and Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Hasnain Masoodi said that the attacks raise questions about the claims of the Union government and J&K administration that militancy has been eliminated from Kashmir.“Our party leadership condemns violence in all forms. However, these attacks also raise questions which debunk the government’s narrative that all is well and normalcy has been restored in Kashmir,” Masoodi, a former judge of the J&K high court, told The Wire.The string of attacks took place at a time when the State Investigation Agency of the J&K Police has stepped up a probe into the killing of Sanjay Kumar Sharma, a Kashmir Pandit, who was shot dead outside his home in Pulwama district on February 26, the first such incident this year.The SIA, which was formed on the lines of the National Investigation Agency for probing terrorism cases in J&K after Article 370 was read down, raided the residence of three active militants in Shopian district among 10 premises in three districts of south Kashmir earlier this week.The raids were carried out in connection with the killing of Sharma, who worked as a guard at an ATM in his native Achan village. The agency said that it has identified the perpetrator involved in the killing of Sharma.While the hinterland in Kashmir has registered an uptick in violence over the past week, the Line of Control has also heated up, with security agencies claiming to have gunned down at least six unidentified militants in two encounters in the frontier Poonch district of Pir Panjal region.Following the reading down of Article 370, the Pir Panjal region, which falls along the Line of Control in Jammu division, has witnessed a revival of militancy in recent years, with the Army suffering nearly two dozen casualties in the past two years.The deadly attacks have prompted the authorities to launch ‘Operation Trinetra’ for taking out militants who are believed to be hiding in the forested areas of Pir Panjal districts of Poonch and Rajouri.Four of the six militants in Poonch were killed on Tuesday under this operation, with the Army claiming to have recovered weapons reportedly made in China and Pakistan from the encounter site along with other arms and ammunition. Two more unidentified militants were also gunned down in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Wednesday.