SRINAGAR: A policeman was killed and three others were injured, when militants ambushed a police vehicle at Pantha Chowk area near the Srinagar-Jammu national highway Friday evening, while a Border Security Force (BSF) officer was killed in Pakistani troops firing in Krishna Ghati (KG) sector of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Police sources said militants fired from automatic weapons towards a moving bus near Pantha Chowk, on outskirts of Srinagar in the evening. They said the militants fired for some minutes on the vehicle and fled from the spot after the attack.
A police spokesperson said four policemen were injured in the militant attack. He said the injured policemen were hospitalised, and that one of the critically injured succumbed to injuries. The spokesperson said three other injured policemen were stable.
The deceased policeman was identified as head constable Kishan Lal. After the militant attack, police, paramilitary and army men launched combing and search operation (CASO) in the area to track down the militants responsible for the attack. Militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Friday’s militant attack was the second on security forces in Pantha chowk area in the last three months.
Meanwhile, Pakistani troops breached border ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district and fired on outposts of the BSF.
“The Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing on BSF posts in Krishna Ghati sector along the LoC in Poonch at 5.45 pm,” a BSF spokesperson in Jammu said. He said ASI Kamaljit Singh sustained bullet injuries in Pakistani the troops firing while he was guarding a forward post in the sector.
“He was provided first aid and evacuated from the post to military hospital. However, he succumbed while being shifted to the hospital,” the spokesperson said. He said ASI Kamaljit Singh, 50, had joined the BSF in 1988. He hailed from village Bhatinda in Punjab.