Muhammad Ibrahim, who accompanied the couple as a guide and was with them at the time of the incident, told The Indian Express that a bullet hit Mark C Peter when he had barely stepped out of the mosque. Ibrahim said the killers vanished easily in the ensuing stampede.

A senior police official said they were still clueless as to why Peter was targeted. ``We are exploring all possibilities.'' Peter and Christine, both French, had been staying put in a houseboat in Dal Lake.

Interestingly, 40-year-old Peter, who was immediately shifted to the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science (SKIMS) Soura, said he had tested HIV positive. Thereafter, he was referred to the Bones and Joint Hospital, Barzulla.

A senior doctor at the hospital said, ``He himself told us that he had tested HIV positive. We have taken all necessary precautions. He had contracted HIV during his years of drug addiction.''

However, after being briefed by Intelligence officials, Peter denied he was HIV positive. ``I am a social worker,'' he said, adding he had not tested HIV positive.

According to sources, the authorities have changed the prescription file of the patient and kept the SKIIMS prescription a closely-guarded secret.

Meanwhile, Pakistani troops opened fire at 10 border outposts (BoPs) and villages in R S Pura, Samba and Akhnoor sub-sectors in Jammu region, a Border Security Force (BSF) spokesman said. The Pakistani rangers began firing last evening at Chachuwal, Sangral, Mangral, Alfa Machal, Devra, Bobiyan, Suchetgarh, Londi, Chilyari and Khora BoPs villages, he said.

There was no loss of life or damage to property, he said.

In Jammu, the police seized heroin worth Rs 2 crore. The contraband was recovered from four persons, who were arrested at village Palli in Bishnah tehsil of Jammu district yesterday. An air gun was also seized from their possession, police said today.

A large quantity of arms and explosives were found in sealed boxes at Thanamandi and Surankote areas in the last two days, reports from Rajouri and Poonch districts said. Militants shot dead a youth in Doodi Mahal village of Rajouri district on Monday night, police said.