Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, July 26: A police man was killed and four others including an Inspector of Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police were injured in a militant attack at Sopore in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district early today when they were chasing a group of stone pelters.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police, North Kashmir, Ghulam Hassan Bhat, said that last night after the prayers, groups of youth pelted stones on police and CRPF at various places in Sopore town. “The police and CRPF tackled these stone pelting protesters at various places in the town during the night”, he added.
Bhat said that a big group of stone pelters engaged police at Chota Bazar at around 2 a.m. “Police chased them away but militants had mixed with them and they lobbed a grenade and then fired at the police in which one constable was killed and 4 other police men including an Inspector were injured. Police didn’t fire back as it could have led to civilian causalities”, he added.
The dead police man has been identified as Mohammad Sayed Khan (Belt No. 369 SPR) of Milyal Kupwara. The injured have been identified as Inspector Diraj (Belt No 7305 NGO), Head Constable Yusuful Umar (Belt No 29 IRPF 3rd Battalion), Constable Anaytullah (Belt No. 73187) and Constable Imtiyaz (Belt No 709 SPR). The injured were removed to Sub-District Hospital, Sopore and later to Army’s 92-Base hospital at Badami Bagh Cantonment.
Army, police and CRPF cordoned off the area and launched massive searches to nab the militants responsible for the attack. A police officer said that they detained one suspected youth Shabir Ahmad Shoosha from Batpora this morning. He is being questioned about the militants responsible for the attack.
Police have registered a case (FIR No 119/2014 Under Section 302, 307, 336 RPC 7/25 Arms Act) in Police Station, Sopore.
A police officer said that initial investigations revealed that two militants-one Pakistani and another local, Javed Ahmad Matoo, were involved in the attack.
Reports said that during nocturnal clashes two protesters Mudasir Yaseen and Muzaffar Ahmad were injured after police fired tear smoke shells to disperse the group of protesters in the town.
The group of protesters also torched several municipality dustbins and hurled stone at CRPF bunkers and Police Station, Sopore.
The IGP Kashmir, A G Mir, visited Sopore after the incident to take stock of the situation.
A Hizbul Mujahideen spokesman, Baleeg-u-Din, claimed responsibility for the Sopore attack. He told a local news agency that Hizb carried out attack on police in Sopore.
This is second attack since last evening in Kashmir in which two police men were killed and four others were injured.
Militants last evening shot dead a police constable who was regulating traffic at Bijbehara in the South Kashmir district of Anantnag. Constable Mohammad Altaf of Police Station Bijbehara who was regulating traffic near Goriwan Chowk in Bijbehara area of Anantnag district was fired at by militants injuring him critically. He was removed to SKIMS Hospital Srinagar where he succumbed to injuries.
The IGP Kashmir visited the family of Altaf Ahmed, at Eidgah, Srinagar today. He while consoling the family on the tragic loss prayed for peace to the departed soul. He assured the family of all possible assistance and said that they should not feel lonely while facing the tragedy but the whole police department is with them to share their grief and sorrow. Altaf is survived by two sisters aged parents with father being bedridden besides two brothers one of them a differently-abled brother.
In the meantime, an Army porter was injured in a blast in Keran sector near Line of Control (LoC) last evening.
Ashiq Lone, the porter working with Army’s 23 Grenadiers was injured near Balbir Post in Keran sector last evening Lone suffered splinter injuries in the blast and was immediately shifted to Army’s Drugmulla Hospital where his condition is said to be stable.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel