Hindustan Times (Ranchi)

TERRORIST SHOOTS DEAD 2 UNARMED POLICEMEN IN SRINAGAR

NC VICE-PRESIDENT OMAR ABDULLAH TERMS THE ATTACK ‘REPREHENSI­BLE’

- Press Trust of India letters@hindustant­imes.com

SRINAGAR: A terrorist gunned down two unarmed policemen in broad daylight in an upmarket Srinagar area, an incident captured on CCTV cameras, police said on Friday, two days after a similar shooting targeting the son of the owner of a city eatery.

The two policemen were on duty at Baghat on the high-security airport road when they were attacked. The terrorist, identified as Saqib, can be seen pulling out an assault rifle hidden his clothes and pumping bullets at them at close range.

SRINAGAR: A terrorist gunned down unarmed two policemen in broad daylight in an upmarket Srinagar area, an incident witnessed by several people and captured on CCTV cameras, police said on Friday, two days after a similar shooting targeting the son of the owner of a city eatery.

The two policemen were on duty at Baghat on the high-security airport road when they were attacked. The terrorist, identified as Saqib, can be seen pulling out an assault rifle hidden inside his ‘phiran’, a loose over-garment worn during winters, and pumping bullets at them at close range. The attacker can be seen fleeing from the spot as people scatter around in horror. “We have identified the terrorist and we will soon catch hold of him,” Director General of J&K Police Dilbagh Singh said.

The two policemen were rushed to SMHS hospital. Constable Suhail was the first one to succumb while his colleague, Constable Mohammed Yusuf, lost the battle of life as he was being wheeled into the operation theatre, police said.

Immediatel­y after the incident, police teams rushed to the area and took into their possession recordings from CCTVs installed by shops and houses.

This led them to identify the terrorist as Saquib from Barzulla area in the city. His affiliatio­ns were not immediatel­y known.

This is the second attack in the city in three days On Wednesday evening, terrorists shot at and injured the son of a popular eatery owner in the city’s high security Durganag area. “We have identified some people and they are being questioned by the police. I am sure the case will be cracked soon,” Singh said.

J&K political leaders, including former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, condemned the killing. Abdullah, who is also the National Conference vice president, condoled the deaths and tweeted: “What makes this attack even more reprehensi­ble is that SgCT Mohammad Yousuf of Zurhama and Ct Suhail Ahmad of Logripora were unarmed & shot in the back. Senseless & cowardly at the same time.”

The attack in the city came as a 24-member delegation of envoys from various countries visited Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday to assess the ground situation in the union territory.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India