“At about 7:35 pm, terrorists fired upon a CRPF personnel, Mukthar Ahmad, at his home in Check Chotipora area of Shopian in south Kashmir,” a police official said.He said Ahmad was referred to the district hospital in Shopian where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
The CRPF personnel was on leave, the official said.
The area has been cordoned off and a hunt launched to nab the attackers, he said.
This is reportedly the 4th such attack on security personnel in the Kashmir valley in last 3 days.
Earlier, commenting on the murders of Panches and sarpanches by terrorists in the Kashmir valley, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said that they are soft targets for militants as around 90 per cent of them do not have personal security officers but the police are taking steps to ensure their safety.
His remarks came a day after a sarpanch was shot dead by militants in Adoura in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. This was the third killing of a local elected representative in the union territory this month.
“Panches and sarpanches are a soft target as about 90 per cent of them do not have a PSO (personal security officer). We have provided secure accommodation in Srinagar to those who face a threat. Some have been put up in district headquarters,” Kumar told reporters in Srinagar.
Referring to Friday’s killing in Kulgam, the inspector general of police said the sarpanch was given a secure accommodation at a hotel here but he left without informing the police.
“We regret it. I went to Kulgam and took a (review) meeting there, discussed the preventive measures and dos and don’ts. We will try our best to keep all the PRIs or PPs (protected persons) safe so that they can work in a safe environment,” he said.
