JET AIRWAYS SHARES FALL TO FOURYEAR LOW 3 J&K cops abducted from home, shot dead
IN COLD BLOOD Hizbul claims responsibility, triggers panic among police force SRINAGAR:
Three policemen were abducted from their homes in south Kashmir’s Shopian district and shot dead in cold blood by the Hizbul Mujahideen on Friday, police said, as a new page opened up in the three-decade-old problem of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.
The bodies of the slain policemen – identified as constable Nissar Ahmed and special police officers Firdous Ahmed and Kulwant Singh – were found in an orchard across a river, they said. A video, purportedly from the Hizbul Mujahideen, had warned all Kashmiri residents working as special police officers (SPO) to tender their resignations.
Inspector general of police (Kashmir range) Swayam Prakash Pani termed the incident cowardice and said “the militants are desperate as they are feeling the heat from security forces.”
“We have lost three of our brave colleagues in a barbaric terror strike. Our tribute to the three martyred jawans. We will soon bring all the culprits before law,” he said.
The three policemen were kidnapped early Friday morning from their homes at Batagund and Kapran villages, police said. The residents of Batagund village chased the terrorists and pleaded with them to not abduct the men. The abductors fired shots in the air and threatened the villagers. The terrorists crossed a river in the area and shot them dead, officials said.
A post on a Twitter handle, purportedly belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen group, claimed responsibility for the incident. Security agencies also believe that Hizb militants are behind the killings.
The abduction of the policemen from their homes and the killing is the first in the three decades of militancy in the state. Earlier, policemen have been targeted on the road or while on duty.
The killings are believed to have triggered panic in the lower ranks of the police department, with at least six policemen resigning. Two of them issued video messages dissociating themselves from the force.
“My name is Irshad Ahmad Baba and I was working as a constable in the police. I have rendered my resignation...,” said one of them in a video being widely circulated on social media here.
Tajalla Hussain Lone, an SPO, said he had resigned from the