One more dies as Kashmir Valley witnesses escalation in sneak attacks on cops
Srinagar: The restive Kashmir Valley is once again witnessing escalation in violent attackers on policemen. Over past few days, at least, two policemen were killed and one was critically injured in sneak attacks by suspected militants.
In one such attack the wife of one of the police officials was critically wounded.
On Saturday, two such attacks took place in southern part of the Valley considered by officials as a hotbed of insurgency. One Special Police Officer (SPO) was killed and another was critically wounded, officials said.
The police said that SPO Muhammad Ashraf Mir was critically wounded when militants shot him in chest near Murran Chowk, a busy intersection in Pulwama district. He was rushed to the district hospital where he succumbed, the police added. Mir, a resident of Pulwama’s Machpona, was a former militant who had been absorbed by the police department after he decided to shun violence. He was posted in Srinagar as an SPO and was currently off duty, the police said. He also owned an eatery in Pulwama town, the local sources said.
Earlier during the day, another SPO identified as Turaq Singh (a report mentioned his name as Trilok Singh) was shot and critically wounded by gunmen at Khanabal Chowk in neighbouring Anantnag district.
On March 29, SPO Mushtaq Ahmed Sheikh was shot dead by suspected militants inside his home in Anantnag’s Katoo Wapzan village. His wife Fareeda Mushtaq was critically injured in the incident.
Officials said that apart from usual combats, hundreds of policemen have been targeted by militants in similar fashion during the three-decade old militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, many of them while off duty and visiting their homes. Such attacks saw escalation in March and April last year when a number of policemen and their kin were killed or wounded.
Following a series of militant attacks at policemen or their families, the police department had issued an advisory asking its field personnel to avoid visiting their homes “for the next few months”. It had while referring to the “unfortunate” incidents wherein “militants and anti-national and anti-social elements have caused damage to the life and property of police personnel”, asked them to exercise extreme caution while visiting their homes.
The advisory had said, “They should preferably avoid visiting their homes for the next few months as their personal security is of paramount importance.” It had also asked all the heads of various formations to brief their officers and men regarding the threat so the life and property of police personnel were secured.
On Saturday, there was speculation that the police department was in view of renewed attacks contemplating to issue a fresh advisory to its men.
However, Director General of Police, Shesh Paul Vaid, told this newspaper “We’re trying to identify the people who are behind these attacks. I don’t think there is a need to issue a fresh advisory to our boys.”
Meanwhile, Army Chief, General Bipin Rawat, on Saturday visited the headquarters of Northern Command in garrison town of Udhampur where he was briefed by Lt. Gen. D Anbu, GOC-in-C, Northern Command, on the overall security situation along the Line of Control and the hinterland in the command theatre.
A defence spokesman said that the Army Chief interacted with the senior military commanders and “took a firsthand assessment of the prevailing operational conditions and operational preparedness”. The spokesman added, “He appreciated the high standards of operational readiness in the difficult terrain and challenging operational environment and also lauded the synergy and cooperation between the Northern Command, Air Force, Central armed police forces, civil administration, and J&K Police operating in the region”.
