Another cop abducted by militants in Kashmir's Pulwama

Militants abducted a special police officer (SPO) from his home in the Tral area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Friday night.

A police officer said Mudasir Ahmad Lone of Chankatar village in Tral was abducted from his home by three militants during the night. Lone was posted at a police post near Awantipora in the same district, where he worked as a cook.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Awantipora, Zahid Malik, said the department is in touch with Lone's family. “Nothing has been confirmed as of now,” Malik said.

The latest incident comes a week after police constable Mohammed Saleem was abducted from his home in neighbouring Kulgam district. A day later his bullet-riddled body was recovered from Hawoora area of the district.

On July 5, another policeman Javaid Dar was abducted by militants from Shopian district. He was found dead in Kulgam on July 6. On June 14, a soldier, Aurangzeb, who lived in Kashmir's Poonch district, was abducted by militants in Pulwama from a vehicle while he was going to his hometown on leave. His bullet-riddled body was found at Gusoo in Pulwama district the next day.

Over the last three years, the south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama have become the epicentre of new age militancy with policemen and political workers frequently being targeted by militants and mobs.