Striking twice within three hours, militants on Sunday shot dead two policemen in central Kashmir and fled with their rifles.
A police official said in the first attack two suspected militants fired upon a policeman deployed to guard the Chrar-I-Sharief shrine in Budgam district. The injured policeman was rushed to 92 military base hospital in Badamibagh where he succumbed to his injuries, he added.
The official identified the slain policeman as Kultair Singh Rajput, belt No. 441, of Samba in Jammu. He was transferred from Chadoora to Chrar-I-Sharief one month ago. “Militants after firing upon him decamped with his riffle,” he added.
After the death of Singh, a video went viral on the social networking sites. The injured policeman in a shattered voice is heard saying that two boys attacked him and two bullets have hit him.
Soon after the attack forces cordoned off the area. “We are conducting door to door searches to nab the militants” station house officer Chrar-I-Sharief said.
A local resident Abdul Qadir said that there are four security posts around the shrine. “These are not sufficient. Administration should beef up the security around the shrine,” he added.
In another attack, a policeman guarding residence of Hurriyat Conference (M) leader Fazal-Haq Qureshi at Bilal Colony Soura on city outskirts was killed when militants fired upon him from a point blank range, a police official said.
He identified the slain policeman as Farooq Ahmad Yatoo of ChadooraBudgam. “Militants also decamped with the service rifle of the policeman,” the police officer said.
It may be recalled that Qureshi had escaped a bid on his in December 2009 when unidentified gunmen attacked him near his residence. After the attack Government had provided him with the security cover.
Director General of Police S P Vaid wrote on twitter: “We have lost another precious life when Constable Farooq Ahmad was martyred today in Srinagar. Be more careful boys, it’s the proxy war that we are fighting in Jammu & Kashmir.”
Meanwhile, a police spokesman Special Director General of Police V K Singh led police officers and others in laying floral wreaths on the mortal remains of the deceased policeman.
Among others who presented wreaths and flowers included IGP Kashmir Swayam Prakash Pani, DIG CKR Ghulam Hassan Bhat, DIG SKR Amit Kumar, DIG BSF S SGuleria, DIG CRPF, SSP Srinagar Imtiaz Ismail Parray, SSP BudgamTejinder Singh, ADC Srinagar VikasKundal and all DySPs, he added.
He said Singh is survived by aged parents, wife and two sons.