Srinagar, June 30: A police Inspector, Shabir Ahmad, sustained critical injuries and is battling for life after being fired upon by unidentified pistol wielding shooter inside his house at Iqbalabad Batamaloo here Wednesday evening.
In other incidents, a suspicious substance was recovered near Heemal hotel at Boulevard here while a policeman was injured in a grenade attack in Kishtwar.
Neighbours of Inspector Shabir Ahmad said that at around 8:45 pm Wednesday somebody rang his door bell.
“After hearing the bell, Shabir went outside to open the door. Later we heard some bullet shots,” a close neighbour of Shabir said. “We rushed outside and saw somebody had shot at Shabir. He was lying in a pool of blood. We took him to hospital.” Soon after, the police took control of the area and started searching for the unidentified assailants.
Hospital authorities said on Thursday that the Inspector was in critical condition.
“He was operated twice, but he is critical. We have kept him on the ventilator,” Deputy Medical Superintendent of SMHS Hospital, Dr Shabir said. “He has received only one bullet in the abdomen. But the bullet while traversing in the abdomen area has created multiple perforations and as a result blood is oozing out.”
SSP Srinagar, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, said the assailants are apparently militants.
The police said they have registered a case and initiated action.
A 5 kg suspicious substance, said to be an IED placed inside a steel container, was planted near liquor shops outside a hotel along Boulevard Road in Dalgate area of the city Thursday.
A police spokesman said the substance was detected near Hotel Heemal.
SSP Bukhari however said it was not an IED, but a jumble of wires stuffed in the canister. “It was not an IED. Despite knowing there was nothing we need not to take risk. We detonated it.”
Eyewitnesses near the hotel said panic gripped the area as soon the substance was detected. All the guests in the hotel and staff fled.
The locals said Hotel Heemal housing liquor shops has always exposed the area to attacks.
“We have told the administration to stop selling liquor in the area. Apart from cultural stigma attached to it, it is prohibited in the religion as well,” a local said. “But here the government is protecting them and our future generation is getting ruined.”
Reports said that police later sealed the liquor shops.
“We have always informed the concerned authorities that the liquor shops in Heemal hotel can become a cause of major tragedy,” President Kashmir Art Shopkeepers Association (KASA), Arjumand Hussain said.
However, he said, the timely intervention by police and sealing of the shops is encouraging.
“We thank police and hotel management for sealing the three wine shops,” Hussain said.
Militants today hurled a grenade on a police patrolling party in Kishtwar district, leaving a policeman injured. The grenade was hurled near the police post in Keshwan area. One policeman Mushtaq Ahmed sustained minor injuries in the explosion.
The police claimed to have arrested one person along with arms in south Kashmir’s Islamabad (Anantnag) district. They said one Ali Muhammad Wani alias Ali Baba, a resident of Natipora Sangam Bijbehara, was arrested in a joint operation by Bijbehara police and 3 RR at Kari Kadal.
Police claimed that they recovered one pistol, one pistol magazine, 162 rounds, two grenades, 40 Pika rounds and one IED from the person.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 30 Jun 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 1 Jul 2011 00:00:00 IST