Ghulam Nabi Wani, a municipal councilor from the National Conference, was shot dead by militants early on Wednesday morning at Khanyar in Srinagar.
The police said that Wani, who represented the NC in the Srinagar municipal corporation, was shot while he was leaving a local mosque after the morning prayers. The unidentified militants came up to him and fired a volley of bullets from their automatic weapons, said the police.
"Wani was taken to the hospital in a critical condition, where doctors failed to revive him. He had a critical bullet injury in the head," a senior police officer said.
The shooting in broad daylight caused severe panic in the densely populated area. Security forces promptly cordoned off the locality and initiated a search operation.
Over two dozen municipal councilors have been killed across Kashmir, which has prompted many of the councilors to step down from their elected positions.