Militants target CRPF patrol in Anantnag, passerby killed

Our Correspondent

Anantnag, April 26

A civilian was killed after car-borne militants opened fire at a road opening party of the Central Reserve Police Force here on Thursday.

The civilian had been identified as Shakeeb Shabir Shah from Shopian district. A hunt had been launched to nab the militants, said the police.

“At 2.20 pm, the militants, travelling in a Santro car, opened fire at security forces in the Laizbal area of the town, along the Khannabal-Pahalgam road,” Senior Superintendent of Police Altaf Khan said, adding that one of the bullets hit Shakeeb, who was passing by in a Tata Sumo. Shakeeb succumbed to his injuries while being taken to Srinagar.

Meanwhile, the Army fired in air and burst teargas shells when some students of the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) in Awantipora threw stones at Army personnel near the campus.

“University students threw stones at an Army party while it was laying and repairing cables near the campus,” a police spokesperson said.

He said the Army fired in air and the police rushed to the spot. However, students and university administration refuted the police claims. They termed the Army action as completely uncalled for and unprovoked.

Mushtaq A Siddiqui, VC, took note of the “unprovoked” use of teargas shells. “There was no provocation from the students as normal classwork was on in the varsity when the incident occurred. Protests started only after the firing incident,” Siddiqui said in a press release.

Three hurt in Kulgam grenade attack

Anantnag: Two policemen and a civilian were injured in a grenade blast in Kulgam district on Thursday evening. The injured have been rushed to a hospital. A police official said militants hurled a grenade at a police station at the main town in Kulgam around 8.10 pm. “The grenade exploded outside the premises of the police station,” the official said. OC