J&K policeman killed in firefight with militants

Srinagar: A jawan of Jammu and Kashmir police’s counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) was killed in a firefight with a group of holed up militants in an area of northern Bandipore district on Sunday.

However, the militants succeeded in breaching the cordon-and-search operation launched in Mir Mohalla of the Hajin town of Bandipore earlier on Sunday and escaped, the officials said.

The slain policeman was identified as Zaheer Abbas Khan, a resident of frontier Poonch district.

The police sources said a joint party of the SOG, the Army’s 13 Rashtriya Rifles and the CRPF’s 45th Battalion laid siege to Mir Mohalla on Sunday morning following intelligence inputs about the presence of militants in the locality. While the security forces were conducting searches the militants hiding in the area opened fire on them, triggering the encounter.

After critically injuring the SOG jawan, the holed up militants managed their escape from the area following which the security forces called off the operation. The injured jawan died in hospital soon after being admitted there, the officials said.

The officials and witnesses said that while the encounter was on groups of local youth clashed with the security forces. The youth hurled rocks at the security personnel in their attempt to help the militants to escape.

The security forces fired live ammunition to quell the mob, injuring, at least, three persons. All the three, the hospital sources said, have received pellet wounds. While two of them were being treated at a local medical facility, the third was shifted to a hospital in Srinagar.

A statement said that a wreath-laying ceremony was held at Srinagar’s district police lines to pay homage to the jawan. Deputy chief minister, Nirmal Singh, led the civil, police and other security forces’ officers and jawans in the floral tribute to Khan who is survived by his aged parents, wife and three minor children.