Cop killed,3 injured in Shopian grenade attack

Constables Abdul Hamid and Mohammad Shafi and a CRPF jawan were injured in the attack at Shopian,52 kms from here.

Shafi was stated to be in a “critical” condition.

Though police and CRPF personnel opened fire in retaliation,the ultras fled the scene.

Security forces have cordoned off the area and a hunt has been launched to nab the militants involved in the attack – the first major strike in the South Kashmir town where the alleged rape and murder of two women on May 30 had triggered widespread protests and strike for 47 days.

The strike ended only last week when a special investigation team (SIT) of state police arrested four suspended police officers,including the then Superintendent of Police (Shopian) Javid Iqbal Mattoo on the directions of the High Court for “destruction of evidence”.

The SIT is probing the case as the one-man enquiry commission of Justice (rtd) Muzaffar Jan failed to identify the culprits.

Bodies of 17-year-old Asiya and her sister-in-law Neelofar Jan (22) were recovered from Shopian on May 30,a day after they went missing from their orchard.