Militants abduct, kill three policemen in Kashmir after ‘resign or die’ threat

SRINAGAR: In a dramatic escalation in militancy, terrorists kidnapped and shot dead three Jammu and Kashmir policemen on Friday, stunning the police force. But the government denied that any policeman had quit following the ‘resign or die’ threats by the Hizbul Mujahideen.

Three special police officers (SPOS), who form the lowest rung of the police force in the state, were gunned down on Friday, hours after they were abducted separately from their homes in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, a militant stronghold, police said.

A police officer said that locals discovered their bulletriddled bodies in a village in the morning. The dead men were identified as Firdous Ahmad Kuchai, Nisar Ahmad Dhobi and Kuldeep Singh.

The horrific incident took place days after militants issued threats in Shopian, asking policemen to quit their jobs or face consequences.

This is the first time militants have seized and killed three policemen at one go since the start of the separatist campaign in Jammu and Kashmir in 1989.

Police said a total of four people, including a policeman’s brother, were abducted on Thursday night from their homes in Shopian’s Kapran and Batgund villages, surrounded by a thick cover of apple orchards.

The civilian was released unharmed after locals resisted his kidnapping. Local news agencies quoted the Hizbul as taking responsibility for the abduction and killing of the policemen.

The police refuted rumours that the bodies of policemen were mutilated. “The bodies were riddled with bullets but not mutilated,” a senior police officer said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police denied claims by five policemen on the social media that they had resigned after the killings in Shopian.