J&K: Five additional CRPF companies to be sent as targetted civilian killings rise

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Tuesday said that it is sending five additional companies to Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the recent civilian killings in the Union Territory. They will be deployed in Jammu and Kashmir within a week. The force had earlier sent 25 companies to the region.

This development comes hours after a salesman was shot dead from point-blank in the Bohri Kadal area in Srinagar on Monday. Ibrahim was working in a shop owned by a Kashmiri Pandit- Sandeep Mawa. 

“Today, at about 2010 hrs Srinagar Police received information about a terror crime incident at Borikadal area of Srinagar. Senior police officers reached the terror crime spot,” said a police spokesman, in a statement. 

The police spokesperson added, "preliminary investigation has revealed that terrorists had fired upon one civilian identified as Mohammad Ibrahim Khan son of Ghulam Mohammad Khan resident of Astengoo Bandipora at Borikadal area of Srinagar.”

A day before, terrorists shot dead a J&K police constable in the Batamaloo area of Srinagar. He was attacked near his home. The slain cop was shot from a close range. 

Targetted attacks on civilians

Terrorists in the past few weeks have launched targeted attacks on civilians, non-locals and Kashmir Pandits. On October 5, Makhanlal Bindroo, a Kashmir Pandit chemist, was murdered in Srinagar followed by attacks on a non-Kashmir street vendor and a civilian in Bandipora. Within 36 hours of these attacks, two teachers were killed in Srinagar's Eidgah locality. Later, in the coming weeks, several non-civilians were also attacked.

Meanwhile, in retaliation, security forces have neutralised at least 13 terrorists, including a top commander affiliated with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Image: PTI