CRPF man killed in Srinagar militant attack

A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) man was killed and another injured as militants attacked paramilitary forces near the Fire and Emergency Services department in Batamaloo area of Srinagar on Tuesday.

Ravideep Sahi, Inspector General CRPF, said that militants fired upon the CRPF party and ran away from the spot.

“It was a hit and run case in which one CRPF man was killed and another injured,” he told reporters at the encounter site.

The deceased trooper was identified as Shankar Lal of 23 CRPF Battalion.

Following the attack, security forces cordoned off the area and launched a manhunt to nab the attackers.

Indigenous Hizbul Mujahideen outfit in a tele-statement to local news gathering agency KNS claimed responsibility for the attack.

The place where the attack occurred is barely a hundred meter away from the office of Inspector General Police (IGP) Kashmir and SSP Srinagar.

Earlier on February 12, two fidayeen (suicide) militants and one CRPF personnel were killed after the militants made an abortive bid to attack a paramilitary forces camp in Karan Nagar area, barely half a kilometre away from Tuesday’s attack location.

On June 15 militants had attacked a police party near SMHS hospital in Karan Nagar, killing one policeman and injuring another.

A senior police officer involved in counter-insurgency operations said, “The militants appearing in the heart of Srinagar city and successfully managing to attack security forces is a cause of worry. While the focus of security agencies is on south Kashmir, by carrying out tactical attacks in Srinagar, the militants want to convey that they are capable of striking anywhere in the Valley," he said.

Sources said that in view of the latest attack, state police chief Shesh Pal Vaid asked all the security agencies to remain vigilant while performing their duties.

“Security agencies have been asked to deploy additional forces in sensitive areas of Srinagar and remain extra-vigilant to thwart any such attacks in future,” they said.