With just 18 days left for the by-election in Anantnag district, militants struck for the second time in 24 hours in south Kashmir and shot dead two policemen from close range on Saturday. A mobile grab, which went viral on the social media later, showed two armed militants, wearing Western clothes, sporting light beard, and carrying automatic weapons in the main market of the busy Anantnag town after the attack, which took place around 11a.m.
“Two or three unidentified gunmen attacked a police naka party at the Anantnag bus stand. Two policemen injured in the attack later died,” said State Rural Development Minister Abdul Haq Khan.
Militants flee
The deceased policemen were identified as assistant sub-inspector Bashir Ahmad and constable Reyaz Ahmad. The militants escaped from the spot after the firing.
On Friday, three BSF personnel were killed and seven injured when militants opened fire at a BSF convoy in Bijbehara town in Anantnag district.
The Opposition National Conference (NC) legislator Ali Muhammad Sagar blamed the rise in militancy on the “unholy alliance between the PDP and the BJP in J&K.”
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti described the attack as “desperate attempts to disrupt peace and normalcy.”
