Gunshots Rattle Old City’s Nawa Kadal, Searches Launched
Srinagar: A policeman was injured on Sunday during a brief encounter with militants and government forces in NawaKadal area of the Old City, officials said.
Acting on an input suggesting presence of militants, a joint team of police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) laid a cordon around Nawa Kadal area of the city and launched a combing operation, a police officer told Kashmir Observer.
He said the joint team came under heavy fire from militants when they zeroed in a militant hideout.
“In the initial burst of gunfire, a policeman was injured. He was shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment,” the police officer said.
He identified the injured policeman as Constable Maqbool Ahmed, who was posted as Personal Security Officer (PSO) of SP North.
The police officer further said that the firing has stopped but a CASO is still intact in the entire area.
“We have cordoned off the area to nab the suspected militants,” he added.
Talking to Kashmir Observer, Medical Superintendent SMHS, Dr Kanwaljeet Singh said that the injured cop’s condition is critical as a single bullet has inflicted serious damage to the cop.
“He has received a single bullet injury on the left side of his neck. There’s a critical open and exit point created by the bullet that has also inflicted damage to his spinal cord,” he added.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued here Sunday evening, a police spokesperson said that based on specific input about presence of militants in Jamalata area of Nawa Kadal, a raid was carried out by a small party of Police in the area.
“As the team approached towards suspected spot, the hiding terrorists started indiscriminate firing upon them, resulting in injuries to one Police personnel who was evacuated to nearby hospital for the treatment of his injuries,” he said.
The police spokesperson further said that keeping in view the safety of the civilians and evening rush in the area the police team exercised maximum restraint.
“However reinforcement of Police and CRPF laid cordon of the suspected clusters of houses and search started. Besides, Police have registered a case and started investigation into the matter,” he added.
Pertinently, today’s brief encounter comes three days after police claimed to have killed a suicide bomber in a gunfight in Bemina area of the city here on November 11.
Amir Riyaz of Khrew, Pampore was a relative of one of the accused militant of Lethpora attack and preliminary investigation indicated that he was assigned to carry out similar kind of Fidayeen attack, a police spokesperson had said Friday.
Three days earlier, suspected militants shot dead Mohammad Ibrahim Khan, a Muslim salesman of a Kashmiri Pandit trader in Bohri Kadal area of the Old City.
A day earlier on November 7, militants shot dead a policeman outside his residence in Batamaloo here.
It is pertinent to mention here that last month, 20 militants, 12 soldiers and 13 civilians were killed in different militancy related incidents, including encounters and targeted killings. The killing of 13 civilians in a month, most of them non-locals, is the highest death toll in the last two years and the fourth-highest since 2012.
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