Cop killed, four others injured in Kashmir militant attack

A police official told DH that militants hurled a grenade and later opened fire towards a joint checking party of police and BSF

A special police officer (SPO) was killed while three policemen and a BSF man were injured in a militant attack in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Friday.

A police official told DH that militants hurled a grenade and later opened fire towards a joint checking party of police and the Border Security Forces (BSF) near Nishat Park, in main town Bandipora, 55 km from here.

In the attack four policemen and a BSF man were injured, who were immediately shifted to a nearby hospital, he said. However, among the five injured identified as SPO Zubair Shah succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

SPOs are recruited by the J&K police on fixed monthly remuneration of Rs 12000. The wages of SPOs are given by the J&K government and reimbursed by the Centre under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme. The police maintain SPOs are an important element in their strategy to combat militancy.

The 30,000 men and women SPOs - bolstering a police force with duties ranging from fighting militancy to maintaining law and order have been targeted specifically by militants in the last few years.

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