Proves fatal for 2 cops shot by ultras
SRINAGAR: A regular morning cup of tea proved fatal for 2 unarmed policemen who were gunned down by a terrorist in an upmarket Srinagar area, an incident witnessed by people and captured on CCTV cameras, police said on Friday.
The two policemen, posted in nearby Saddar police station on the high-security airport road, had gone to a close by shop to have their morning tea when they were attacked by the terrorist, police said. The nearby police station and a security bunker at the beginning of a lane had given them the confidence to go to the tea shop unarmed, they said.
The terrorist, Saqib, can be seen pulling out an assault rifle hidden inside his ' pheran' and pumping bullets at them at a close range. The attacker can be seen fleeing the spot as people scatter around in horror.
Police said there were two other accomplices with him at a distance, which included a wanted militant from South Kashmir. "We have identified the terrorist and we will soon catch hold of him," Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbagh Singh said.
Saqib, according to the po
lice, had joined militancy seven months back. The Resistance Front (TRF), believed to be a shadow outfit of the banned Lashkar-eTaiba terror group, has claimed responsibility for the attack. The policemen were rushed to SMHS hospital. Constable Suhail was the first to succumb while constable Mohammed Yusuf, lost the battle of life as he was being wheeled into the operation theatre. Police teams rushed to the area and scanned CCTV cameras installed by shops and houses, and identify the terrorist as Saqib from Barzulla.
In separate gunfights earlier in the day, 3 unidentified terrorists were killed in an encounter in south Kashmir’s Shopian, while in central Kashmir’s Budgam, a policeman was killed and a second injured, officials said.
3 arrested for attacking Krishna Dhaba owner’s son
Separately, the J&K Police said it arrested 3 militants, who shot and injured the son of a popular eatery owner in Srinagar city on Wednesday. Kashmir IGP said the militants had shot at at Akash Mehra, the son of the owner of 'Krishna Dhaba' on Wednesday evening in Sonwar.