A 35-year-old man was killed and two special operations group (SOG) personnel were injured in firing after he allegedly tried to snatch a service rifle from them in Doda district, officials said on Friday. The incident, which happened around 11:30 pm on Thursday on the Jai-Gandoh road, about 35 km from Bhaderwah, triggered protests in the district.
Event Context
The SOG team had laid an ambush following inputs of suspicious movement, said a police official who did not want to be named. Around 11.30 pm, the SOG team intercepted a youth who allegedly attacked the personnel and attempted to snatch a service rifle, he said.
“During the scuffle, an SOG jawan opened fire. The youth sustained bullet injuries, while three police personnel were injured in the incident,” the officer said.
All four were taken to the sub-district hospital, Bhaderwah, and then referred to the Government Medical College, Doda, for specialised treatment. The youth, Aarif Hussain (35) of Cheeka village, succumbed to his injuries, the officials said.
Chief medical officer of GMC Doda, Dr Tanveer Ahmed, said, “Around 3 am, a dead man with two bullet injuries in his abdomen and two injured cops were brought to the hospital. Doctors extracted one bullet from the dead man but another remained embedded in his body. The two policemen, however, had not suffered any bullet injuries. They had lacerations and cuts on their faces, backs and chests etc. Their injuries were minor in nature.”
Following the incident, angry protestors blocked the Doda-Bhaderwah road for over four hours. Bhaderwah additional superintendent of police (ASP) Vinod Sharma in an attempt to pacify the agitating crowd assured justice a thorough probe into the incident and a government job to Arif’s wife. Notably, Arif’s father, a special police officer (SPO), was killed by terrorists in his house in Bhalla during peak militancy.
Arif’s sister, Humaira Bano, alleged that the police were trying to project her brother as a bovine smuggler. “He was just an e-rickshaw driver,” said Bano.
“We want an FIR under murder charges against those who killed Arif and support for his family in form of a government job,” she said.
A villager, pleading anonymity, said that Arif, along with three others, had gone to a picnic around July 9.
“One of them has been identified as Rehmatullah while the identity of the second one is not known yet. They were detained from Upper Dandi village in Bhaderwah. The third one still remains missing,” said a local.
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The authorities, as a precautionary measure, have also suspended mobile internet in Bhaderwah town since 6 am on Friday. The Doda district administration has deployed additional troops of Central Reserve Police Force and J&K Police in Bhaderwah town. No official statement was issued by the Doda district administration and police department till the filling of the report.
Three detained
Police have detained three persons, including a religious preacher. However, the preacher’s link to the incident was not immediately clear.
The two others detained had allegedly accompanied Arif to a “picnic” on July 9.
