SRINAGAR: Militants attacked the residence of a BJP leader at Nowgam area in outskirts of Srinagar on Thursday morning, killing a policeman guarding the residence.
BJP spokesman Manzoor Bhat said militants fired towards the residence of BJP leader Mohammad Anwar Khan at Aaribagh, Nowgam in the outskirts of Srinagar in the morning today.
In the militant firing, a policeman guarding the BJP leader’s residence was critically injured.
The injured policeman identified as Rameez Raja was shifted to SMHS hospital in Srinagar, where he succumbed to injuries.
Unconfirmed reports said militants have decamped with the service rifle of the slain policeman.
The BJP leader was not present in the house when the militant attack took place. However, his family members were present in the house.
After the militant attack, police and paramilitary personnel rushed to the area and launched a combing and search operation to track down the militants responsible for the attack.
It is the second attack on BJP workers in the Valley in the last few days.
Earlier, on March 29, militants had attacked the municipal office Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district and killed two BJP councilors and a policeman.
Police had blamed Lashkar-e-Toiba for the attack and identified one of the two militants involved in the attack.
BJP’s general secretary (Org) Ashok Koul strongly condemned the militant attack and asked the government to increase the security of the party leaders in the Valley in view of threat perception.