A Hizbul Mujahideen militant was killed in a grenade explosion during “an abortive bid to escape” from a police station at Tral in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday afternoon, the third such incident in the past five years.
According to the police, Mushtaq Chopan tried to escape wearing a burkha (veil). “Around 12.30 p.m., Chopan was near the main gate of the police station when a grenade was lobbed from the outside. It was meant to divert attention and help him escape,” said the police. “The blast, however, resulted in his death,” Inspector- General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Swayam Prakash Pani said.
Constable Mehraj-ud-din was injured in the attack. In a photograph taken after the incident, the slain militant is seen in a purple salwar.
A magisterial inquiry has been initiated into the incident.
Chopan had been held by the Sopore police under Section 7/27 of the Arms Act earlier this year. He was being probed by the Awantipora police in a militancy-related case in south Kashmir.
In June 2015, an undertrial militant, Waheed Noor Khan, died in similar circumstances when a grenade exploded inside a police vehicle in Baramulla’s Hygam. In July 2013, another undertrial militant Shakeel alias Ubaidullah was also killed in a grenade explosion inside a police vehicle in Srinagar’s Batamaloo area.
The killing of Chopan sparked protests in parts of Pulwama. Security forces used smoke shells and fired in the air to contain the situation. Shops and business centres remained closed in Tral.
