A head constable of the Jammu and Kashmir Police was killed in an unknown gunman’s firing in the busy Lal Chowk area of Indian-administered Kashmir’s southern Anantnag district on Wednesday.
According to government officials, the incident took place on Wednesday afternoon when a police party deployed in the area was suddenly fired upon.
Official sources have identified the slain officer as 35-year-old Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, a resident of central Kashmir’s Budgam district.
Police officials said that Constable Ashiq Hussain was on security duty for the annual Amarnath Yatra.
He was rushed to the Government Medical College Hospital in critical condition soon after the attack, where doctors declared him dead.
CCTV footage showed an attacker riding a motorcycle firing from close range and escaping.
A senior police official said, “It was a cowardly ‘shoot and escape’ attack.”
Security forces have cordoned off the entire area and a massive search operation has been launched to trace the attackers.
On the other hand, according to local sources, an armed group has claimed responsibility for the attack on social media. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has strongly condemned the incident and said, “The sacrifice of the Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel will not go in vain and those responsible for this crime will be brought to justice.”
In view of the ongoing annual Yatra in the Valley, security has been tightened and additional personnel have been deployed at sensitive locations.
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