4 LeT militants including one in burqa involved
Excelsior Correspodnent
JAMMU, Apr 1: A policeman was martyred and his rifle snatched when militants attacked the guard post of a senior BJP leader at Aribagh area of Nowgam in Srinagar today.
Militants attacked the guard post of BJP leader Muhammad Anwar Khan at Aribagh, Nowgam in Srinagar. They fired indiscriminately at the sentry injuring him critically. They also took away his riffle.
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The cop who had multiple bullet injuries was identified as Rameez Raja. He was brought dead to hospital.
BJP leader Anwar Khan is party’s district general secretary for Baramulla and incharge Kupwara district.
This is the second attack since Monday when militants targetted Lone Building in Sopore area of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, in which two Municipal Councillors and a policeman were martyred.
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Soon after the attack, senior police officers including IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar, SSP Srinagar Sandeep Chaudhary, and other officials visited the spot to take stock of the situation. The entire area was sealed and massive searches launched against those who carried out the attack.
This was third attack on Khan. Earlier in 2018, his three PSOs were martyred in an attack on him. Prior to that another attack was carried out in which he escaped unhurt.
Vijay Kumar said four Lashkar-e-Toiba militants including two from Srinagar carried out the attack on the guard post of the house of senior BJP leader Muhammad Anwar Khan in Aribagh, Nowgam area.
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Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the wreath laying ceremony of martyred cop Rameez Raja, who was deployed at the guard post outside the residence of BJP leader, the IGP said: “After examining the CCTV footage, one burqa clad militant knocks the door and when the door is opened, two others fire indiscriminately and the fourth one comes and takes away the rifle.”
“Initially we thought the first one wearing burqa was a female, but after investigating the leads thoroughly, he was the male militant who had changed his voice to deceive the sentry on duty”, he said.
The IGP said two of the four militants involved in the act have been identified as Shahid Khursheed and Obaid Shafi. “Both belong to Lashkar-e-Toiba. The identity of two others is being ascertained who are also believed to be from Lashkar,” he said.
Kumar said that anti-militancy operations will be intensified and those involved in the act will be neutralized. “We had launched a cordon and search operation in Chhanapora in the morning. We have been conducting the searches since January onwards but haven’t been successful in catching the militants’ active in Srinagar. We will work out on human and technical inputs further and catch them soon”, he added.
He said that one of the militants involved in today’s incident Shahid Khursheed of Chhanapora is already a categorized militant with the police.
The martyred cop Rameez Raja, 30, a resident of Ara Khashipora in the Dialgam area of Anantnag had joined Jammu and Kashmir Police five years back in place of his father who had died of tumour.
Rameez got engaged to a girl who belonged to Nowgam area of Shangus in Anantnag recently and was going to be married by this summer.
Hundreds of people from his native village and its adjacent areas reached Ara Khashipora and participated in his funeral prayers. He was laid to rest in his native village amid sobs and tears.
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