Suspected militants Wednesday evening shot dead a Border Security Force (BSF), constable at his home and also fired upon his brother at Hajin area of Bandipora district in north Kashmir.

Official sources said that a group of three to four militants barged into the house of Mohammad Rameez Parray, a BSF constable posted in Rajasthan, presently on vacations, at Parray Mohalla Hajin and thrashed and threatened him. The militants then left the house and came back again.

“The militants second time fired upon the BSF constable and his brother Mumtaz,” said the sources, adding that both were critically injured and were referred to hospital but Rameez succumbed on the way.

Later, government forces cordoned off entire area and searches were launched to nab the attackers.

Police sources while confirming the incident said that militants killed BSF constable Mohammad Rameez Parray inside his house at Parray Mohalla Hajin and also fired upon his father namely Ghulam Ahmad, his brothers Mumtaz and Javaid and his aunt identified as Habba Begum.

“Three to four militants came to the BSF jawan’s residence and started shooting. He was dragged out of his house and shot” DGP SP Vaid said.

While BSF constable died, four other injured family members were rushed to the hospital for treatment while entire area was cordoned off, the officer said.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said that Lashkar-e-Taiba was behind the killing of Parray and injuring his family members.

Speaking to the media, North Kashmir Inspector General Nitish Kumar confirmed that there were three to four militants who first attacked Parray with the knife and then fired indiscriminately at him.

“Around 9 ‘o’clock Jawan Rameez Parray who was on holidays in his hometown was attacked by three to four terrorists. First, they attacked him with the knife and then fired indiscriminately. Prima facie we know that Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Mehmood Bhai and his aides were behind the attack,” he said.

He added that other family members, his father two brothers and an aunt were all lynched. And, all of them are in hospital now.

The 31-year-old BSF constable was deployed with the border-guarding force’s 73rd battalion and had come home to the Bandipora district on leave.

Expressing solidarity with his family, the BSF, India tweeted: “Prahari Pariwar stands by the family of one of our member Constable Md Ramzan (Rameez) who was cowardly killed by terrorists today. He was on leave.”

Parray was laid to rest on Thursday afternoon, as the BSF and the police paid tributes.

The body of Parray was shifted to the local police station around noon where senior officers of the police and the BSF paid tributes.

At around 1:15 pm, he was buried at his ancestral graveyard in Bandipora’s Hajin. Reports said that hundreds of locals participated in the funeral.

Guest