SRINAGAR: In a first incident of its kind, a militant was killed in scuffle with family members of former PDP sarpanch, whom he shot dead inside his house in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Monday evening.
Police sources said a group of militants barged into the residence of ex-PDP sarpanch Mohammad Ramzan Sheikh, 50, at Imam Sahib area of Shopian in south Kashmir this evening.
They said the militants fired on Sheikh from point blank range, causing his on spot death.
“As the militants were leaving the place, the family members of Sheikh pounced on them. It led to scuffle and clashes between Sheikh’s family members and the militants. During the scuffle, an AK-47 rifle of a militant went off. The bullet hit a militant causing his on spot death,” sources said.
The slain militant was identified as Shaukat Falahi of Hizbul Mujahideen.
Shaukat had joined militancy in October last year. J&K Director General of Police, S P Vaid, confirmed the incident.
He said three militants fired and killed ex-PDP sarpanch at his home.
“In the scuffle with family members of Sheikh, a militant Shaukat was killed and two others escaped,” Vaid said.
A police official said police, paramilitary CRPF and army men have reached the spot and launched a cordon and search operation to track down two other militants involved in killing of ex-PDP sarpanch.
“The combing operation was going on when reports last poured in,” he said.
It is the first incident of its type when militants have suffered a casualty during scuffle with family members of the person, whom they killed in the gun attack.
Last month, militants had shot dead an off-duty BSF jawan Mohammad Ramzan Parray at his home at Hajin area in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.
The BSF jawan and his family members had entered into a scuffle with the militants. The militants, however, attacked them with knives and gunfire, killing the BSF jawan and injuring four of his family members including father, two brothers and an aunt.