Gunmen open fire on patrol: Army Forces fired without provocation, allege residents Srinagar, Sep 28: The Army today said that unidentified gunmen opened fire on their patrol party in Sanat Nagar area of uptown Srinagar, while the local residents alleged that forces resorted to unprovoked firing after a biker reportedly did not stop on their direction. The firing took place at around 12.30 p.m. when Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was present in nearby Rambagh area to attend a function. “Two youth riding on a motorcycle opened fire on our soldiers. We retaliated, but the gunmen managed their escape,” said an official of Army’s 15 Corps here adding that a cordon and search operation was launched, however no one was arrested. Reports said that soon after the incident, a large contingent of forces reached the spot and laid a cordon. Senior police officers including Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir, Abdul Ghani Mir, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) central Kashmir, Syed Afad-ul-Mujtaba and SSP Srinagar Syed Aashiq Hussain Bukhari reached the spot to take stock of the situation. However, the residents of the area alleged that it was unprovoked firing by forces. They said Rashtriya Rifles (RR) soldiers and CRPF had established a barricade (naka) and were carrying out searches and checking the documents of bikers. “Two youth riding on a bike, probably without documents, took a U-turn after seeing the naka and the joint party of forces opened fire in air to stop them,” locals said adding that the youth managed their escape. The residents said that later joint contingents of forces ransacked their houses. The incident created panic in the area and people left for safer places. The shopkeepers downed their shutters and normal life was paralyzed in the area for about two hours. "We are ascertaining the facts. One civilian has been injured after he hit a glass pane inside a car showroom while running for cover," IGP Kashmir told reporters. Reports said for more than an hour the joint contingents of police, CRPF and Army carried out thorough search operation and no vehicle was allowed to ply in the area. The forces searched vehicles in the area during which a car owner alleged that his iPad was stolen from his vehicle. Pertinently, half a dozen attacks on forces have taken place this year on Bypass area that include the attack on Army convoy on July 24 and killing of five CRPF personnel in a Fidayeen attack in Bemina on March 15. AL-SHOHADA BRIGADE TAKES RESPONSIBILITY: Al-Shohada Brigade has claimed responsibility for today’s firing, saying two of its activists were involved. “Our two men carried out the attack on Army at Sanat Nagar in Srinagar,” a person introducing himself as Sami-ul-Haq, spokesman of the group, told KNS over phone. #dar
Posted on: Sun, 29 Sep 2013 01:41:05 +0000
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