Srinagar: The militant who carried out the attack on the BJP leader in Ganderbal Tuesday evening in which a police constable besides the attacker himself were killed, was a close aide of the slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo from south Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir DGP said on Wednesday.
“The militant killed in Ganderbal — Shabir Ahmad of Awanitpora — was deputed specifically to carry out the attack,” DGP Dilbag Singh told reporters at the wreath-laying ceremony for Constable Altaf Hussain at the DPL Srinagar — before the body was handed over to the family for last rites.
Hussain was injured while protecting BJP leader Ghulam Qadir during an attack on Tuesday night. The police constable managed to kill one of the assailants and sustained serious injuries. He later succumbed to his injuries, police said.
Sharing details, a police statement said Tuesday evening at around 2040hrs, militants carried out an attack on BJP’s district vice-president Ghulam Qadir Rather at his native village Nunar in Ganderbal when he was leaving for his safe cluster accommodation at Kangan.
The militant fired indiscriminately upon the protected person, however his PSOs – Constable Altaf Hussain and Constable Jahangir Ahmad “accompanying the protected person exhibited a highly professional conduct by quickly retaliating” thus not only saved the life of the protected person but also killed the attacker on the spot, police statement said.
“However, while securing the protected person one of the PSOs Constable Altaf Hussain sustained bullet injuries in the attack who was evacuated to hospital where he succumbed,” the statement said.
It said incriminating materials including arms and ammunition were recovered from the killed militant. Case (FIR no. 209/2020) under relevant sections of law has been registered in Police Station Ganderbal and investigation is in progress.
The DGP said there was another blood trail at the scene of the attack which was being followed by the investigators.
He said the slain militant was a “close aide and overground worker” of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo who was killed in an encounter earlier this year.
Shabir had joined militancy recently, the DGP said.
He said target killings were being carried out in the Union Territory on the instructions from Pakistan “through its terror mouthpiece TRF (The Resistance Front)”.
Singh also said it was “not a big deal” for militants to move from one district to another.
“Recently 39 journalists were threatened by the TRF. They are the people who are doing their job honestly,” he said, adding, “On Pakistan’s directions, they (militants) target people who are working for peace and development. Pakistan is a big collaborator in these killings. They damage our Kashmiri people. TRF is Pakistan’s and ISI’s mouthpiece. They do not let people to do their routine work. We have given befitting reply in the past and will continue to do so in future,” DGP told reporters.
Police chief also said that drones and other technical support is being used to monitor the militant movement on the highways.
