Injured SI shifted to Srinagar, another injured SPO and civilian in Sopore hospital

Sopore: A militant attack in Sopore town on Saturday left two civilians and two policemen dead and another civilian and two policemen, among them a sub-inspector, injured.
An official in the police said that militants attacked a police party that was on Covid duty near Arampora area of Sopore town. He said that four policemen and three civilians were injured in the attack and all of them were rushed to sub-district hospital Sopore, where two policemen and two civilians were declared dead by the doctors.
A police sub-inspector (SI) and a special police officer (SPO) were hospitalised along with another civilian injured in the attack. The injured sub-inspector was later shifted to a Srinagar hospital for advanced treatment.
Police said that militants fled after firing on the police party and searches have been started in the area to find them.
The killed civilians were identified as Bashir Ahmad Khan, son of Gulam Hasan Khan, resident of Taliyan Mohla Sopore and Showkat Ahmad Shala, son of Gulam Qadir Shala, resident of Shalimar Colony Sopore.
The policemen killed in the attack were identified as Showkat Ahmad Parray, son of Abdul Gani Parray of Goripora Beerwah Budgam, and Constable Waseem Ahmad Bhat, son of Mohammad Sadiq Bhat of Narbal Srinagar.
The injured were identified as sub inspector (SI) Mukesh Kumar of Jammu and Kashmir Police, special police officer (SPO) Danish Ahmad, and civilian Nayeem Ahmad Khan, son of Mohammad Maqbool Khan, resident of Mahrajpora Sopore. SI Mukesh Kumar was later shifted to Srinagar for advanced treatment.
Locals said that soon after the attack, teams of army, CRPF and police reached the spot and launched searches to nab the attackers. The government forces closed all the entry and exit points of the town and several bikers and people in private cars were stopped for checking. However, they were yet to nab the attackers when last reports came in.
Local sources said that there was a peaceful atmosphere in the area, with roadside vendors busy arranging vegetables and fruits on their carts, when the attack happened.
“Some people were walking and a few vehicles including motorcycles were moving on the roads. I saw a police party deployed in the area. At 11:45, I heard loud gunfire and it continued for about five minutes. The roadside vendors and other pedestrians ran towards safer places, leaving their carts behind. We don’t know who fired but I saw people lying in a pool of blood,” an eyewitness, wishing not to be named, told Kashmir Reader.
Former chief ministers of J&K, Mehbooba Mufti and Umar Abdullah, and several other political leaders condemned the attack. Mehbooba while talking to reporters on the sidelines of her visit to families of victims of a fire incident in Baramulla said that the gun is not the solution of the Kashmir issue, only dialogue is.
“I condemn this attack in which we lost precious lives,” she said.

Reader correspondent