Srinagar: In a major attack, militants on Monday shot dead seven people, including five policemen, after dragging them out of a vehicle carrying cash of a bank in Kulgam district of south Kashmir.
The cash van of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank, which was returning to Kulgam district headquarter from Damhal Hanji Pora, was waylaid by a group of heavily-armed militants Monday afternoon
“All the seven in the van, five policemen and two bank employees, were killed,” director general of police S. P. Vaid told AFP. The van was returning to a bank in the village of Pumbai in Kulgam district, around 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of the main city of Srinagar, when it came under fire, Vaid said.
Among the deceased is an assistant sub inspector (ASI) of police.
The militants have reportedly decamped with four service rifles of the slain cops but the police official said these reports were being verified. The police is also investigating whether the militants had taken away any cash.
The Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesperson of the Hizb told a local news gathering agency that its cadres had decamped with four weapons from the scene of the attack.