Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, May 11: A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officer was among two para-military force personnel killed in a militant attack on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway in district Anantnag today.
SSP Anantnag, Abdul Jabbar told Excelsior that militants attacked a Road Observation Party (ROP) of CRPF killing two personnel including an officer in Sangam area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
The attack took place at around 3 pm when CRPF personnel were deployed on the highway near Halmulla in Sangam area of Anantnag.
Sources said that the militants came in a car which was parked nearby and later fled in it as well. “The militants, believed to be three in number, fired from point blank range on two CRPF personnel identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector, Omkar Singh and Constable Tilak Raj. Both the men died on the spot.
Militants snatched an AK-47 rifle and a magazine from the ASI and the INSAS rifle from the Constable. However, the INSAS rifle was later found in a nearby canal.
Leaving the two men in a pool of blood, militants fled in a car. Senior Police, CRPF and Army officers reached the spot to assess the situation. They took the bodies to nearby Bijbehara hospital for medico-legal formalities.
Panic gripped the area and people ran for safety after hearing the gun shots. Traffic also came to standstill with the shopkeepers closing down their shops. There was huge traffic jam after the attack.
Police, CRPF and Army later cordoned off Brabundana and Naina villages of Sangam and launched massive manhunt against the militants responsible for the killings. They also carried out surprise frisking along the Highway but no one was arrested.
The attack in Sangam came just two days after a grenade blast rocked Shopian in which 15 civilians were injured.
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant outfit claimed responsibility for the attack. A Hizbul Mujahideen spokesperson Baleeg-ud-Din told a local news agency that two CRPF personnel were killed in the attack which they carried out.
It may be mentioned here that the militants are resorting to weapon snatching as they are short of weapons for the new recruits.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has strongly condemned the killing of two CRPF personnel in a militant attack near Halmulla, Sangam, on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, today.
In his condolence message, Mufti Sayeed conveyed his sympathies to the bereaved families and prayed for peace to the departed souls.
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