Baramulla, Dec 24: Police said they are investigating the killing of a former senior police officer in northern Baramulla district from all angles, including the possibility of any “personal rivalry”.
Former Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Mohammad Shafi Mir, was shot dead today morning at his local mosque in Gantmulla locality of Baramulla while he was giving call for early morning prayers. A police spokesman had earlier said that Mir was shot dead by terrorists.
However, a top police official said that they were investigating the incident from all possible angles. “Not only rivalry but we are investigating other angles as well,” the official said.
He said the officer was shot dead from a point-blank range with a 12-bore rifle and that pellets have been recovered from the scene of the crime.
The crime scene footage reveals that the assailant broke the mosque windowpane near the staircase where Mir was saying ‘azaan’.
Soon after the attack, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) north Kashmir range, SSP Baramulla Amod Ashok Nagpure and senior officers of Army and CRPF rushed to the spot.
Mir was meanwhile rushed to the nearby hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.
“But the doctor spotted blood oozing out from the back side of the body following which the police decided to do a post-mortem of the body for which the deceased was shifted to GMC Baramulla,” another official said, adding that they are waiting for the final report.
A police official said that “preliminary information is that it was a terrorist attack, but the weapon used to kill the retired officer points to other possibilities as well.”
“The investigations are going on and we are looking into it from all possible angles. Everything will be made public once the investigation is completed,” the official said.
