SRINAGAR: Panic gripped Shopian main town as massive fire exchange led people to safety soon after the Tarveh prayers were almost over. There were many weapons in action at the same time triggered serious tensions. The firing continued for almost 12 minutes.
Police said a group of militants had actually mounted an attack on the residence of Congress man Ghulam Hassan Khan. The guards securing his residence retaliated the firing.
As the fire exchange between the two sides continued for some time, a group of cops moved out of the police station to intervene. They started firing in air from the police station till they reached the spot of the crisis.
“It was a situation almost unprecedented,” Kashmir Life reporter Sheikh Hilal said. “It seemed as if entire Shopian is a battle ground.”
By the time, the police reinforcements reached the spot, militants had fled. Then the anti-militancy forces scanned the entire area and reinforced the security systems.
Khan lives in the heart of town. He was at home after a cardiac procedure in which a stunt was reportedly placed into his body.
Right now, the entire security grid is out on the roads. Most of the top officers of the police, the CRPF and the army have reached the residence of Khan and are still there monitoring the situation. Sources told Kashmir Life, Khan is all right along with his family. There has been no loss of life from any side. Nobody is injured.
Khan has been a old Congress man in Shopian who won an election on PDP mandate in 2002. He became a minister as well. Later, he returned to Congress.
