Jammu cop puts life at stake in 2-hr fight with militants

Rakesh Rocky

Jammu, May 27: Less than a month in the police, Special Police Officer (SPO) Nissar Ahmed is already a hero in the eyes of his colleagues.
In an encounter with seven foreign militants at Sukhani in Doda district, Nissar bravely fought on despite being seriously injured and killed one of them. A Special Task Force (STF) head constable and two SPOs were killed in the encounter and two SPOs, including Nissar, were injured.

At the Government Medical College, Jammu, where he is admitted, Nissar’s face shines with pride, belying his condition. ‘‘I am happy to get such an opportunity within a month of joining as SPO,’’ he said.

Ahmed is from a poor family of Kota Khangal, a village in a remote part of Doda. His father is a labourer. He joined the force to follow the footsteps of his elder brother, Mukhtiar, who is a police constable. In fact, all the Ahmed brothers work for J-K Police. Another brother Masood recently became a constable.

Describing the encounter with militants at Sukhani, he said he was deputed for a combing in the area along with other policemen. On May 22 around 12 o’clock, they were drinking tea when they spotted seven armed militants. They shadowed the militants for some time and on entering a thickly wooded area the militants fired.

‘‘We took our positions and returned fire, killing two of them. The exchange continued for over two hours. We managed to kill all seven,’’ he said. But Nissar is sad on losing three colleagues in the incident.

He said his whole family is devoted to the service of the nation. His uncle Abdul Mazid, a policeman, was killed by militants in Didasinwala, Rajouri, last month.

Though proud of being a policeman and fighting for the people, Nissar is unhappy with what the government pays SPOs. ‘‘An SPO gets just Rs 1,500 a month, which is insufficient for the family.’’

The government pays Rs 5,000 to an SPO injured in encounters with militants. ‘‘This is discouraging for an SPO who fights for the people’s safety at the cost of his life,’’ said state BJP chief D.K.Kotwal, who visited Nissar at hospital to gift Rs 2,000 to him and another injured, Kartar Singh.