4 min readSrinagarDec 25, 2023 07:11 AM IST
First published on: Dec 24, 2023 at 09:38 AM IST
A retired J&K Superintendent of Police (SP) was shot dead in a village in Uri early Sunday while giving a call for the morning prayer at a local mosque.
While preliminary investigations revealed that Mohammad Shafi Mir was shot using a 12 bore rifle, police said they were investigating the case from all angles including personal rivalry.
At dawn Sunday, Mir went to the local mosque at Gantmulla village of Uri to make the call for the morning prayer. As he was reciting the prayer call, he was shot inside the mosque.
While police initially called it a terror attack in a post on X, a police officer said that subsequent investigations revealed that a 12 bore rifle was used in the shooting. The officer said while the terror angle had not been ruled out, it could be an outcome of a personal rivalry.
“We are now investigating the case from all possible angles including personal rivalry. It is too early to rule out the terror angle in this case but as of now it looks like a rivalry,” the officer said,
Mir retired as a Superintendent of Police in 2012. Police sources said that Mir, when he was a Sub Inspector in J-K Police, was suspended following the 1993 police agitation over the killing of constable Reyaz Ahmad. Reinstated in 2007 on court orders, Mir was posted as commandant of an armed battalion of J-K Police until his retirement. The court had ordered his reinstatement with all promotional benefits.
“He would regularly recite the morning Adhan (call for prayer) in our mosque. He would be the first person to be in the mosque,” Mir’s cousin Mir Mustafa told The Indian Express. “Today, when he was reciting the call for prayer, there was silence midway. He was shot while offering the Adhan.”
Gantmulla, a village in the Sheeri region of Uri, is one of the most peaceful areas of the Valley.
“We have seen 30 years of militancy but we have not seen violence in our area. Our area has been peaceful all along,” Mustafa said. “This (killing) was beyond our imagination. We don’t know who did it and why. He was a pious man.”
Police sources said while Mir was guarded by a Personal Security Officer (PSO) after his retirement, his security cover was later withdrawn.
Mir’s killing was condemned by many in the Valley.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, in a post on X, said, “Pained beyond words on the dastardly terrorist attack on retired police officer, Shri Mohammad Shafi Mir while he was giving a call for prayer in the mosque. Cowards responsible for this barbaric act will not be spared. My condolences to the bereaved family in this hour of grief.”
The separatist conglomerate Hurriyat Conference too expressed pain over Mir’s killing, calling it “a blot on humanity”.
“Such killings are a blot on humanity and only bring disgrace to the people and place where they are committed. They are no solution to resolve conflicts and only cause grief and suffering,” the Hurriyat said in a statement.
Sajad Lone of Peoples Conference said on X: “Yet another sad news. My prayers and thoughts are with the family of Mohd Shafi sahib. May Allah grant him Jannat. And hope that J-K Police recognizes the challenge facing it. Evaluating security threat is a science and can’t be left to likes and dislikes and whims.”Retired J&K SP shot dead while giving call for prayer from mosque in Uri village
Police sources said Mir had retired as an SSP in 2012 and was guarded by a personal security officer (PSO) despite being a resident of one of the most peaceful regions of the Kashmir Valley. However, his personal security officer had been withdrawn recently.
Soon after the attack, a joint team of J-K Police and the Indian Army cordoned off the area to trace and arrest the militants involved in the attack. “The area has been cordoned off. Further details are awaited,” said a police officer.
The area was cordoned off by the Jammu and Kashmir police and the army after the attack (PTI File Photo) 
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