Thaindian News

Srinagar, Aug 31 (IANS) Separatist guerrillas shot dead two Central Reserve Police Force (CPRF) troopers from close range in the commercial heart of Srinagar Monday as hundreds of people crowded the area.
The two victims were taken by surprise as they stood guard on the side of a busy road in the city centre Lal Chowk in the afternoon.

The killers suddenly opened fire, targeting the security personnel’s head since the bulletproof vests cover only their chest.

Both men collapsed and bled to death even as they were rushed to a police hospital.

“Both ‘jawans’ were shot in the head and they succumbed to their injuries in the police hospital,” a police officer told IANS.

Even as a large number of police and CRPF personnel rushed to the site, the gunmen escaped.

In less than half hour, militants lobbed a grenade at a CRPF bunker near the main bus stand in Srinagar’s Batmalloo area, injuring 10 civilians, two CRPF personnel and two policemen.

In the second case too, the attackers escaped. None of the separatist groups active in Jammu and Kashmir claimed responsibility for the attacks during the holy month of Ramadan.

The CRPF said the militants betrayed their cowardice by attacking security personnel in crowded areas.

“It is not a daring attack, it is a cowardly attack,” said CRPF spokesman Prabhakar Tripathi. “They fired in a crowded area. We are trying to find out who did this.”

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, is dotted with security bunkers covered by nets to bounce off grenades.

Srinagar is also the urban hub of an Islamist separatist campaign that has left thousands dead in Jammu and Kashmir, whose ownership is disputed by India and Pakistan.