Srinagar:
Tragedy struck Kashmir valley once again on Sunday when two policemen were shot at from a point blank range by the militants in Srinagar. One of them died on the spot, while other is critical.
This is the fourth such incident in the city alone in the last three months.
For the shattered relatives of Manzoor Ahmad Bhat, a Head Constable, the news came as a shock. He was shot on the head from close range while on duty. Bhat died on the spot.
"We were sitting inside our shop; we heard gun shots from outside. When we came out and saw people running and two policemen in a pool of blood. We, the shopkeepers immediately rushed towards them and put them in the ambulance," said Abdul Majeed, an eyewitness.
Of late, militants have directed their attacks on police personnel. Four policemen have been killed in Srinagar city alone in the last three months.
That includes attack on a police van just outside the heavily guarded central jail. These attacks on the police are coming at a time when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced a greater role for cops in counter-insurgency operations.
"The responsibility for maintaining the law and order in the state will be increasingly devolved on Jammu and Kashmir Police," the Prime Minister had said earlier.
The objective of targeting Kashmir Police is to spread panic among them as they have to play a major role in future counter militancy operations in Kashmir.
This is the fourth such incident in the city alone in the last three months.
For the shattered relatives of Manzoor Ahmad Bhat, a Head Constable, the news came as a shock. He was shot on the head from close range while on duty. Bhat died on the spot.
"We were sitting inside our shop; we heard gun shots from outside. When we came out and saw people running and two policemen in a pool of blood. We, the shopkeepers immediately rushed towards them and put them in the ambulance," said Abdul Majeed, an eyewitness.
Of late, militants have directed their attacks on police personnel. Four policemen have been killed in Srinagar city alone in the last three months.
That includes attack on a police van just outside the heavily guarded central jail. These attacks on the police are coming at a time when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced a greater role for cops in counter-insurgency operations.
"The responsibility for maintaining the law and order in the state will be increasingly devolved on Jammu and Kashmir Police," the Prime Minister had said earlier.
The objective of targeting Kashmir Police is to spread panic among them as they have to play a major role in future counter militancy operations in Kashmir.
