Nation is proud of your son, Shah tells family of slain J-K police officer

rchopra@tribunemail.com

Srinagar, June 27

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday visited the residence of Jammu and Kashmir Police officer Arshad Ahmed Khan, who succumbed to injuries during a terror attack on June 12 in Anantnag district, and assured his family that the government will look after them.

Shah, accompanied by officials, went to the Bal Garden residence of Khan near the city’s Civil Lines area and met his parents Mushtaq Ahmed Khan and Mehbooba Begum, wife, brother and children Uhbaan (five years) and Daamin (18 months).

The home minister came and offered his condolence, and assured that the government will look after the family of the brave son of the country, a kin of Arshad Khan, who was present at the meeting, said.

The Union home minister also handed over an appointment letter to his wife for a job in the state government, an official spokesperson said.

On his official Twitter handle, Shah said Khan’s “sacrifice for the security of our nation has saved many lives. The entire nation is proud of Arshad Khan’s valour and courage”.

Khan, 37, was injured in the terror attack on June 12 and later flown to Delhi in an air ambulance for a specialised treatment. However, he succumbed to injuries at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on June 16.

Five Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in the terror attack in which a lone Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist targeted a patrol team of the paramilitary force.

Khan, the Saddar Station House Officer (SHO) in Anantnag, reached the site soon after.

The moment he stepped out of his official bulletproof vehicle, along with his service rifle, a barrage of bullets were fired by the terrorist. One bullet ricocheted from the butt of his service rifle and hit his liver and duodenum, officials had said.

Even in that condition, the officer kept firing bullets at the terrorist before he collapsed, they had said.

Khan was appointed sub-inspector in the Jammu and Kashmir Police in 2002 and served in various important capacities.

During the 2016 agitation following the death of Burhan Wani, the poster boy of the Hizbul Mujahideen, Khan, who was then posted as SHO of Bijbehara, single-handedly cleared the highway and ensured that there was no traffic restriction.

Khan, whose ancestors are from Peshawar in Pakistan, never succumbed to political pressure and was shifted from Bijbehara prematurely after he had rounded up many so-called activists of a political party. — PTI