Policeman Shot Dead in Militant Attack in Kashmir

Srinagar, June 8: A policeman was shot dead by suspected militants in Indian administered Kashmir on Wednesday morning.

A police officer said militants fired from point blank range towards a police constable Manzoor Ahmad Mother & Child hospital, Sopore, some 54 kms North of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian administered Kashmir this morning.

“The policeman sustained multiple bullet wounds and died on the spot,” he said.

They also said the policeman was in civvies when he was attacked by the militants.

Immediately after the incident, a large contingent of police and CRPF reached the spot and laid siege around the area to flush out the militants responsible for the attack. However, no arrests were reported.

The shootout triggered panic in the area with shopkeepers pulling down shutters of their shops and running for safety. The normalcy was restored in the area after half an hour.

No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack.

This is the second shooting incident in Kashmir in last three days.

Earlier, on Monday, unknown gunmen shot dead a trader from Sopore in summer capital.

Meanwhile, police chief of the region Kulip Khoda has said although militancy incidents in Kashmir have witnessed sharp decline but it wasn’t over yet.

“Though there has been a decrease in militancy related incidents but the problem is not over yet. Police will continue its drive to weed out militancy from the region,” he said.

On killing of the policeman in Sopore town this morning and the presence of militants in the area, Khoda said, “There are reports of presence of some commanders of LeT and Jaish in Sopore and adjoining areas. Anti militancy operations will be launched in the area in the coming days. We held a security review meeting yesterday in which future strategy regarding flushing out militants from Sopore town was discussed.”

Fayaz Wani
Fayaz Wani reports on life in Srinagar, Kashmir.