JOIN USA policeman was killed and a civilian injured when militants opened fire on a patrol party of Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police in Anantnag district of south Kashmir on Monday.
Vijay Kumar, Deputy Inspector General of Police, South Kashmir, said that the SOG personnel were on patrol in Arwani village, 50 km from here, when militants fired on a policeman killing him on the spot. “Our men didn’t return the fire as it was a busy marketplace. The area has been cordoned off and hunt is on to nab the militants responsible for the killing,” he said.
The slain policeman is constable Salamatullah Khan of border tehsil of Uri in north Kashmir.
Reports said a civilian, Sheraz Ahmad Naikoo, also sustained a gunshot wound in his leg during the shootout.
An eyewitness told Deccan Herald over phone that he heard some gun shots and people started running for safety. “As I ran, I saw a policeman lying in a pool of blood with his weapon beside him,” he said.
Soon after the incident, senior police officers, including Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir, Abdul Gani Mir, reached the spot to take stock of the situation.