Bijbehara: A former Ikhwani who was now serving in the Territorial Army was shot at and killed by militants in Bijbehara town of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Friday.

The slain 45-year-old man has been identified as Mohammad Saleem Akhoon alias Malla son of Ghulam Hassan Akhoon, a resident of main town Bijbehara. He was posted at Unit 162 of the Territorial Army.

Malla was a militant turned government sponsored gunman and was later inducted into the army.

“He was on a vacation home when the incident took place,” a senior police official told Kashmir Reader.

He said that the shootout took place at about 4:15 pm on Friday in the busy Goriwan market along old Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.

“He was out to buy something when militants shot at him multiple times,” the police official said.

He said that Malla was shot at multiple times.

Injured Malla was rushed to the nearby Sub-District Hospital, in a critical condition. “He had bullet wounds to his head, abdomen and chest. We referred him to the Government Medical College Hospital in Anantnag,” Medical Superintendent of the SDH Dr Tula Singh told Kashmir Reader.

Malla, however, succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital in Anantnag. “He was brought dead to this hospital,” a doctor at GMC Anantnag said.

Following the incident, Goriwan market in Bijbehara was cordoned off by forces and searches were carried out to try and nab the attackers.

“We have registered a case and investigation has been taken up in this matter,” the police official added.

Suhail A Shah