Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 6: A Special Police Officer (SPO) today deserted police and fled with an AK-47 rifle from Srinagar’s Rainawari Police Station. Police have launched hunt to nab him.
The SPO Riyaz Ahmad (belt no 175F) of Khan Sahib area in district Budgam was posted in Police Station Rainawari where from he deserted. He was missing since last evening along with AK-47 rifle and a magazine of a police constable Shoukat Ahmad. Shoukat was also posted in the same Police Station.
An FIR has been registered in Police Station Rainawari against his missing along with rifle of Shoukat and police have ordered departmental inquiry. They have also launched hunt to nab the SPO.
This is third incident of cops deserting the police along with rifles since March last year. The other two cops who deserted police have joined militancy.
Last month Constable Shakoor Ahmed Parrey son of Mohammad Sidiq ran away with four AK-47 rifles of fellow constables from the SDPO office in Bijbehara where he was posted.
Shakoor, a resident of Kundalan, Shopian was posted as a personal security officer (PSO) to SDPO Bijbehara, Irshad Ahmad Bhat, in Bijbehara area of Anantnag district.
However, police have recovered two of the rifles that he had fled with while two are still with him and he is still at large. Two other rifles were recovered during operations by police and security forces and they arrested two of his accomplices as well.
In March last year, Naseer Ahmad Pandith, who was on guard duty at the residence of then Roads and Buildings Minister, Syed Altaf Bukhari, in Srinagar, decamped with two AK-47 rifles and two magazines.
Pandith, a resident of village Kareemabad in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district joined Hizbul Mujahideen and is one of the most wanted militants now.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
