Shopian FIR names 24 militants

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 22

The J&K Police have named 24 local militants in FIR in the Shopian policemen killings case.

According to the FIR registered at the Shopian police station, the “act was done to intimidate the police persons and their family members, so as to keep them away from their duties”.

A group of armed militants swooped Kaprin and Batagund hamlets in Shopian around sunrise on Friday and abducted three cops — Nisar Ahmad Dhobi (38), Firdous Ahmad (28) and Kulwant Singh (35). A relative of a cop was also abducted. While the relative was set free, the militants shot dead the three cops in a nearby orchard. The J&K Police blamed the Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) for the killings.

In the FIR, a copy of which is with The Tribune, the police have named 24 local militants, including Syed Naveed, a cop-turned-militant from Shopian.

“The police station received information through reliable sources that some active terrorists (the 24 militants in the FIR), having illegal arms and ammunition at the behest of Riyaz Naikoo, Hizbul Mujahideen commander, entered the houses of the policemen at Batagund and Kaprin and kidnapped them with an intent to kill. It was done to intimidate the police personnel and their family members, so as to keep them away from their duties,” the FIR reads.

Hizbul Mujahideen had recently issued threats to policemen and special police officers (SPOs) to quit their jobs or they would be targeted. The Friday killings sparked a series of resignations from frightened SPOs in south Kashmir. They released their videos on social networking sites to announce their resignation. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs has called the reports of resignation propaganda.

Clashes in Shopian during search op

Several people were injured in clashes between local youths and security forces during a cordon and search operation (CASO) early Saturday morning at Shirmal village of Shopian district. The clashes erupted after the security forces started to conduct searches following a several hour cordon in the area. “The CASO was concluded after searches as no contact could be established with the militants,” a police official said. The injured, meanwhile, were treated locally. In neighboring Pulwama district, a door-to-door search operation was launched by the security forces in over 10 villages early.

Farooq meets DGP, mourns killings 

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah visited the police headquarters on Saturday and held a meeting with DGP Dilbagh Singh and other senior officers. The former CM expressed his condolences to the bereaved families of three policemen killed by militants in Shopian district of south Kashmir on Friday.  “Farooq expressed his condolences to the families of the three police personnel who were martyred in a dastardly act of terrorism yesterday,” the J&K Police wrote on Twitter. Farooq said the police was performing its duties for maintaining peace and tranquility in the state.