Militants attack J&K hospital, help Lashkar ultra to escape

Militants opened fire on a police party outside a premier hospital in Srinagar, killing two constables and managing to free a Pakistani terrorist who was brought for treatment.

Militants opened fire on a police party accompanying a group of prisoners, including Naveed Jat alias Abu Hanzullah, who was brought to the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital for a check-up, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Ghulam Hassan Bhat said.One constable died on the spot while the other succumbed to injuries a few hours later.

Bhat said Naveed managed to escape with the assailants. The deceased are Mushtaq Ahmad and Babar Ahmad.

Sources told DH it was a pre-planned attack. Naveed was arrested in 2014 for killing a policeman near a court in southern Pulwama district.

He is believed to be an accomplice of top Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Abu Dujjana who was killed in Pulwama last year in an encounter with security forces.

"Naveed snatched the weapon from a policeman as he was helped by accomplices who were already positioned inside the hospital. Naveed was brought there by a police party from the Rainawari central jail along with five other prisoners this morning (Tuesday)," sources said.

"Naveed, a resident of Sahiwal in Pakistan's Punjab province was LeT's deputy chief at the time of his arrest. He was involved in the killing of an ASI in Pulwama and a CRPF man in 2013, besides various weapon snatching attempts.

"Naveed's escape is a major worry for security forces as he was operating in the Valley, especially in south Kashmir since 2012," sources added.

A senior police officer said they are trying to ascertain how the militants got the information that Naveed was being taken to the hospital.