A policeman was killed when militants fired upon the residence of a BJP leader in Nowgam area of the Srinagar on Thursday, police said. BJP leader Anwar Ahmad, who is the party’s district general secretary for Baramulla and in-charge for Kupwara district, is safe, a police official said. He was not present in his house at the time of the attack.
The attack was carried out by four Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, a senior police officer said, asserting the attackers would be neutralised soon. Kashmir Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar said two of the four have been identified, and they are from Srinagar city. Kumar said one of the four militants was wearing a ‘Burqa’ (veil) and imitated a woman’s voice while asking the guard at the residence of the BJP leader Anwar Ahmad to open the main door.
“There was one sentry on the main door and two cops in the guard room. As is clear from the CCTV footage, one terrorist wearing a ‘Burqa’ knocked on the main door and asked, imitating a woman’s voice, for opening it,” the IGP told reporters on the sidelines of a wreath-laying ceremony of the slain cop — Rameez Raja — at the Police Control Room here. Kumar said when the sentry opened the door, two other militants fired indiscriminately on him and the fourth one decamped with his rifle. “The militants came and fired indiscriminately, resulting in the on-spot death of the jawan,” he said. Raja was rushed to SMHS hospital in the city where doctors declared him brought dead.
The IGP said two militants out of the four have been identified. “Initially, we thought the one wearing a ‘Burqa’ was a lady, but when we analysed the CCTV footage closely, we found that it was not a lady, but a male and a terrorist. Two out of the four have been identified and are from Srinagar city. “They belong to the LeT outfit. One of them is Shahid Khurshid Dar. He is from Chanapora and is a categorized terrorist. The other is Obaid Shafi Dar. They both joined the LeT last year along with four others,” he said.
“We will neutralise them soon after generating pinpoint intelligence,” the IGP added. He said security forces have been conducting several operations in the last three months, but “there has not been much success”. “We will increase the (anti-militancy) operations and strengthen the intelligence gathering and will soon neutralise them,” Kumar said.
The BJP condemned the militant attack on the party leader’s house, saying such incidents cannot weaken democracy in Jammu and Kashmir. BJP leader Anwar Ahmad, who is the party’s district general secretary for Baramulla and in-charge for Kupwara district. National General Secretary of the BJP and in-charge Jammu and Kashmir, Tarun Chungh, expressed anguish over this “highly deplorable” incident and stressed that exemplary punishment will be ensured to the killers of the policeman. “These repeated terror attacks cannot weaken democracy in the region,” he said in an apparent reference to similar attacks in the past on the party leaders, some of whom have lost their lives.
Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina also condemned the attack and said the whole humanity is feeling shocked and ashamed on such incidents. “Being soldiers of democracy, the social and political activists work tirelessly in strengthening the democracy, but terrorists, their bosses and their sympathisers do not want people to prosper,” he said.
State BJP General Secretary (Organisation) Ashok Kaul said those who attacked Khan’s residence and killed the innocent policeman would not be spared. “All BJP leaders of the country stand by the family of the deceased in this difficult situation. Those who are responsible for the act should be neutralised,” he said. Kaul demanded BJP workers be given proper security, so that they will not become easy targets for anti-national elements. The BJP leaders expressed solidarity with the bereaved family of the policeman.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) strongly condemned the killing and expressed serious concern over the “deteriorating situation in the valley”. In a statement, the JKPCC described the incident as “cowardice and shameful act”. The party also expressed serious concern over the frequent militant attacks in Kashmir and emphasised on the government to take more effective measures to contain such mindless attacks and ensure that there are no further loss of lives.
The party is highly concerned about the loss of lives, the JKPCC said, conveying deepest condolences to the family of the slain policeman.
(With PTI inputs)