3 injured as militants bank loot attempt foiled

Two bank guards and a civilian were injured after unidentified militants opened fire inside a branch of Jammu and Kashmir Bank during a robbery attempt in southern Kulgam district on Friday, DHNS reports from Srinagar.

Police said people foiled militants attempt to purportedly loot Mohanpora branch of J&K Bank in Kulgam, 70 km from here. “Two to three militants barged into the bank but were surrounded by people present in the bank which unnerved the gunmen. The militants then opened fire wounding a civilian and the two guards,” Harmeet Singh, Superintendent of Police Kulgam, told reporters.

He said the militants fled from the spot after firing as the two guards carrying 12-bore guns were not able to retaliate. The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital, where their condition is stated to be stable.

No cash could be looted from the bank due to the alertness of people, police said.

Rifle snatched

Earlier in the day, unidentified militants snatched a 12-bore rifle from a bank guard in neighbouring Shopian district. A police official said unidentified militants snatched a rifle from a guard posted at J&K Bank's main branch in Shopian at around 2:45 pm.

On Thursday night, militants snatched four assault rifles from policemen posted at the residence of a Congress leader in the district. Indigenous Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant outfit claimed responsibility for the attack.

A police officer said five policemen present in the guard room have been suspended and they are being questioned.

The weapon snatching and looting of banks by the militants has seen a surge in the recent years. Official figures presented in the state assembly in January this year reveal that 149 rifles were looted by militants in Kashmir in the past three years out of which 76 have been recovered.

Similarly, Kashmir witnessed a surge in bank looting cases ever since demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016. More than a dozen banks have been looted since then and more than Rs 1 crore has been taken away in the raids.