Militants target cash van: 5 cops, 2 security guards killed in Kashmir

Suspected militants killed five policemen and 2 security guards in South Kashmir’s Kulgam on Monday as they looted the cash van of a government-run bank.

The victims were killed by the attackers who dragged them out of their vehicles, South Kashmir DIG SP Pani said. The van was dispensing cash to local branches. An amount of Rs 50 lakh was looted, sources said.

The incident came against the backdrop of spiralling tension in the Valley, which has been reeling due to clashes and street protests by people chanting separatist slogans since the death of a popular militant leader last July.

Kashmir has remained largely paralysed since government forces shot dead Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani, touching off months of deadly street protests. The government responded with force, leaving more than 100 people dead.

Violence spiked again last month after eight people were killed during an assembly bypolls in Srinagar. Since then, several video clips purportedly showing alleged human rights abuses by security forces have also added to anger, often manifested in throngs of crowds taking security forces.

Recently, J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti met with PM Narendra Modi in Delhi, saying the PM was “amenable” to talks with stakeholders to restore peace but that no dialogue was possible in the face of bullets and stones.