SRI NAGAR: A Pakistani prisoner and a policeman were killed and five policemen injured in a mysterious blast in a police vehicle in Sopore town in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday while army foiled an infiltration bid in Machil sector in border district of Kupwara by killing a militant.
A police officer said a Pakistani prisoner, Waheed Noor Khan, who was arrested in 2010 for his involvement in militancy-related case, was presented in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Sopore in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Saturday.
“He was brought to the court from Central Jail, Srinagar, by a police escort. The blast took place inside the police vehicle near Haigam, Sopore, when the police team bringing the accused back to the jail” he said.
The officer said the blast killed the Pakistani prisoner on spot and injured five policemen in the vehicle.
The injured policemen were taken to nearby hospital and later shifted to Srinagar hospital. Later in the evening, one of the critically injured policeman, identified as Abdul Majid, succumbed to his injures at the the hospital. According to doctors, the condition of another injured cop is critical.
Asked how the blast took place inside the vehicle, police official said, “We have launched an investigation to ascertain who was carrying the explosive material in the vehicle.”
“We are trying to ascertain whether the Pakistani prisoner was carrying a grenade after getting it from somebody in the court or somebody had planted the bomb in the vehicle. All angles are being probed,” he said.
No militant group has claimed responsibility of the blast in Sopore, where unidentified assailants had recently killed six persons including two former militants, two activists of hardline leader Syed Ali Geelani’s party and two people associated with mobile business. Police blames Lashkar-e-Islami, breakaway faction of Hizbul Mujahideen for the civilian killings, but the militant outfit has denied its involvement in the attacks.
Meanwhile, Army foiled an infiltration bid in Machil sector of border district of Kupwara.
“In the early morning on Saturday, a group of militants were spotted and engaged at the LoC fencing in Machil sector by the Armymen operating in the area,” defence spokesman Lt Col N N Joshi said.