Sopore militant attack: Two cops, two civilians killed
Srinagar: Two policemen and as many civilians were killed and at least three others injured on Saturday when militants opened fire targeting security forces in Sopore town of Baramulla district of north Kashmir, officials said.
Militants fired upon a joint party of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and police near Main Chowk Sopore in north Kashmir district around noon, they said.
The officials said in the firing, two police personnel and two civilians were killed.
At least three others, including a policeman, were injured in the attack, they said.
The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital from where the injured policeman was taken to the Army’s 92 Base Hospital here, the officials added.
Officials identified the two cops as Showkat Ahmad Parray son of Abdul Ghani of Goripora Beerwah Budgam and Constable Waseem Ahmad Son of Mohammad Sadiq Bhat of Narbal Srinagar.
The two civilians were identified as Bashir Ahmad Pohlu Son of Ghulam Hassan of Teliyan Mohalla Sopore and Manzoor Ahmad Shalla Son of Ghulam Qadir of Shalimar Colony Sopore. Both were declared dead on arrival at SDH Sopore, they added.
The officials said that the four others were critical injured during the firing incident. Two among them Sub Inspector Mukesh Kumar and a civilian Tariq Ahmad of Kraltang Sopore have been referred to Srinagar hospital for specialized treatment.
However, other injured police personnel Danish Elahi and a civilian Nayeem Ahmad Malla of Mahrajpora Sopore were being treated at SDH Sopore.
Soon after the attack the whole area was cordoned off by security forces and senior officers visited the spot and took the overall view of the situation.
Meanwhile, two remote villages of Central Kashmir’s Budgam district mourned the death of two policemen, who lost their lives in the militant attack.
As the dead bodies reached their respective native villages, locals mostly women started wailing while some of them gave vent their anger and frustration chanting slogans. The grandmother of one of the cops at Goripora broke down.
As the families and relatives mourned their deaths, hundreds of people from adjoining villages converged on the two villages for participation in the last rites.
Relatives of both the families said that they were sole bread winners for their families who after toiling hard had got jobs in Police Department.
“Now the whole family has to rely on the brother of the slain cop Showkat Ahmed who is a daily-wager in PDD, earning a meagre sum as salary,” one of the relatives said.
Meanwhile, locals also mourned the death of two civilians in Sopore who were also killed in the militant attack today.
Eyewitnesses said heart wrenching scenes were witnessed in the native areas of slain civilians. Women were seen thumping chests amid noisy atmosphere. (with inputs from PTI, KNT)
Bilal Ahmad
