KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Unidentified gunmen Friday decamped with service rifle of a policeman posted outside District Court Complex in Kulgam district of South Kashmir.
Police sources told CNS that pistol borne attackers, two in numbers sprayed chilli powder into the cop’s eyes before snatching his INSAS rifle.
The cop identified as Zahid Ahmed (645kgm) was inside the dilapidated security bunker located near SP’s official residence and Court Complex when the incident took place.
“The attackers fled from the scene while a manhunt was launched to nab them,” a police official said.
Reports said that soon after the incident, government forces sealed all the routes leading towards Yaripora, Islamabad, Shopian, Damhalhanji pora and Qazigund. However, no arrests were made during search operations.
A top police official said that since past two years, the militants have attacked the paramilitary forces in different districts across Kashmir and have most of the times decamped with weapons. “Over the past two-years, militants have resorted to more than half a dozen hit and run attacks that besides injuring the forces are snatching their rifles. This is worrisome,” he said adding that this year alone multiple incidents of rifle snatching incidents occurred in South Kashmir.
On 14 April, unidentified persons snatched the service rifle of a paramilitary trooper in Kashmir’s Tral town. Days after militants killed two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men and snatched their rifles in south Kashmir near Sangam bridge, militants made another attempt to snatch a rifle in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on May 16. On 26 May suspected militants snatched an automatic rifle along with a magazine from a cop and decamped with it in Pulwama district.
On 29 May, suspected militants shot at and injured a policeman Sartaj Khan and snatched away his rifle in Shopian district. On 9 July suspected militants fire at police constable Muhammad Yousuf in bid to snatch his rifle at the entrance of the district court complex Pulwama.
