A J&K Police sub-inspector was killed by militants in Pulwama district in south Kashmir on Sunday. Identified as Imtiyaz Ahmad Mir, the police officer was abducted before being shot dead by militants at Wahibug. Mir's colleagues told PTI that he was desperate to meet his parents despite knowing that militants had laid a trap for him in his village. Mir had even shaved off his beard to change his appearance, a police officer said. Posted in the CID department, Mir had been warned against venturing into his village as there was a possibility of an attack by militant groups, who have been targeting policemen in the state recently. "I had told him that he should not go as militants could attack. But he was desperate to see his parents who reside at Sontabugh in the interiors of Pulwama district," recalled one of his supervising officers. Mir is survived by his father and mother. Son of a retired police officer, Mir had served in Ganderbal district of South Kashmir for five years before being transferred to Kulgam district last year. A dedicated police officer, Mir was shifted to CID department in March this year. When the body of Mir was being brought to Pulwama district lines by a police team from Wahibugh, it was attacked by stone pelters as security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation in Chewa and the area where he was shot dead. The killings appear to be part of the growing trend in the valley, where militants are targetting either police officers or their families. In September, family members of 10 police personnel were abducted, embarrassing the top brass. Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo had purportedly claimed responsibility for the abductions in a 12-minute video in which he gave a three-day deadline for the release of all relatives of militants who were in police custody. The incident also led to the removal of S P Vaid as J&K Police DGP. The attacks on security personnel are likely the result of a major shift in policy of the forces which started putting “increased pressure on families of militants” across South Kashmir to curb militancy. Earlier today, militants also killed a 40-year-old Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) worker. Mohd. Amin Dar, a resident of Gangbugh, was an associate of PDP leader and former minister Syed Altaf Bukhari, they said. A patrolling party of the Army was also attacked by militants in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. Militants opened fire on a patrolling party of the Army at Poterwal village of the south Kashmir district, a police official said. He said the Army retaliated, forcing the militants to flee. There were no reports of any loss of life, the official added. This comes just days after an Army soldier on patrol duty was injured in stone pelting and succumbed to his injuries.
