Cop Killed, Candidate Hurt in Militant Attacks in Kashmir

Srinagar, May 17: A policeman was shot dead by suspected militants in Indian administered Kashmir while a candidate scheduled to contest Local Bodies elections was critically injured in a separate attack.

A police official said 24-year-old policeman Mohammad Shafi Dar was shot from point blank range by suspected militants at Bus Stand Tujjar Sharif in Sopore, some 55 kms North of Srinagar, summer capital of Indian administered Kashmir (Iak) this morning.

He said the policeman sustained multiple bullet injuries and was rushed to a local hospital for treatment. The doctors in the hospital declared him dead upon arrival.

Immediately after the attack, police and paramilitary personnel laid siege around the area and launched massive combing and search operation to flush out the militants responsible for the attack. However, no arrests were reported.

In another shootout, unknown gunmen fired on a 50-year-old man, who was a candidate of Local Bodies elections, in an orchard at Wadoora, Sopore, some 55 kms North of Srinagar.

“Suspected militants fired on Mohammad Maqbool Bhat, 50, of Wadoora at around 1700 hours while he was working in his orchard. He was hit by bullets in his leg and rushed to the hospital, where doctors are attending on him,” he said.