SRINAGAR: Militants disguised as electricians allegedly looted four assault rifles from the official residence of a Congress legislator in uptown Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), by overpowering one of his security guards on Sunday, police said.
A police officer said the attackers were armed with a pistol and knives and overpowered a policeman guarding the J-37 residence of Congress legislator Mohammad Muzaffar Parray.
He said the policeman was the only one present in at the time and that the attackers tied him up with a cloth before decamping with four AK-47 rifles. Four policemen guard the residence usually. Parray is presently in Jammu, the winter capital.
DIG central Kashmir V K Birdi said the police are questioning all four guards.
None of the policemen was from volatile south Kashmir, which has emerged as a stronghold of militants since 2016. The incident is being seen as a lapse on the part of the security team.
A police official said call details of all four policemen residence are being analysed to ascertain the facts. It is the second major weapon snatching incident reported from the home of a legislator in the area.
On September 28, a Special Police Officer (SPO) of J&K police, Adil Bashir Sheikh, had looted seven assault rifles of policemen and the licensed pistol of former PDP MLA Wachi Aijaz Ahmad Mir.Adil, who hailed from Shopian, later joined the Hizbul Mujahideen.
Overpowered
The attackers were allegedly armed with knives and restrained the lone policeman on guard at the Congress legislator’s home and stole four AK-47 rifles and fled.