Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Nov 15: A police constable was critically injured and the Station House Officer (SHO) escaped unhurt in a militant shoot out at Janglat Mandi area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district this evening while the militants decamped with a police rifle .
DIG South Kashmir range, Vijay Kumar told Excelsior that constable Abdul Rashid Tantaray was fired upon at Janglat Mandi when the Chowki Officer, Sub-Inspector Abdul Gani was managing traffic in the town this evening.
Kumar said that the injured cop who sustained bullet injury in neck was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital from where he was later removed to SMHS hospital in Srinagar for treatment. He said that the cop was operated upon in Srinagar.
The DIG said that a lone militant fired at the constable from point blank range from his pistol and fled away with his service rifle by taking cover of darkness.
Kumar said that the police officer didn’t follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) according to which he was supposed to carry four armed policemen or at least two armed police men with him but he was carrying only one armed man at the time of the militant attack.
The DIG said that the inquiry has been ordered to find out reasons behind the police officer not following the SOP.
The injured cop has been identified as Constable Abdul Rashid Tantaray (belt no. 1287/A) son of Abdul Salam Tantaray, resident of Gundrahman, Tulmullah Ganderbal.
Soon after the attack, Police and CRPF cordoned off the area and started search operation to nab the militants responsible for the attack.
This is the second attack in South Kashmir since November 7 when militants killed two CRPF men at Awantipora on National Highway in Pulwlama district.
In the meantime, Police and Army in a joint operation this evening arrested two Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of militants from Bandipora in North Kashmir.
The two OGWs Irshad Ahmad Gania and Hameed alias Painter were arrested in Bandipora this evening. However, no arms or ammunition was recovered from them.
Sources said that they were working with Ghulam Mohammad Sheikh alias Haroon alias Bitta, the former militant who was arrested early this week after security forces received information about his re-joining militancy and recovered arms and ammunition from him. “The duo was arrested on the basis of information provided by Bitta”, sources added.
Police in Srinagar arrested a former militant and his accomplice of Pulwama district on charges of extortion.
Police sources said that two extortionists, former militant Nazir Ahmad Dar son of Mohammad Akram Dar of Lajora in district Pulawama and Bashir Ahmad Rather son of Nazir Ahmad Rather of Ratnipora in district Pulwama were arrested on charges of extortion by Srinagar Police.
Sources said that Dar and Rather had demanded Rs 15 lakh from senior advocate of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Molvi Aijaz. He had received life threat from the duo for pleading the high profile Srinagar sex scandal case for accused seven years ago and was asked by the duo to pay Rs 15 lakh.
The advocate informed the police about the life threat by extortionists and police laid a trap and arrested the duo from a public place in Srinagar where they had gone to collect the extortion money.
Several residents in Pulwama have alleged that the duo had been extorting money from the people by threatening them. Police is investigating the case.
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