Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha strongly condemned the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit by terrorists on Sunday in first such attack this year, and said his administration has given a free hand to security forces to deal with terrorists.

Activists of Shiv Sena (UBT) staged an anti-Pakistan and anti-terrorist protest to denounce the killing, while the Congress' Jammu and Kashmir unit said the Centre should take adequate measures to stop targeted killings and focus on saving precious lives rather than "befooling people" by claiming return of normalcy in the valley.