Municipal councillor, his personal security guard shot killed in militant attack at Sopore

Srinagar: A municipal councillor and his personal security guard were on Monday shot dead by militants during a meeting of the urban local body in Sopore town of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, police said.
Unidentified gunmen barged into the premises of the Sopore Municipal Council around 1.15 pm and shot at the councillors and security personnel while a meeting of the council was in progress, they added. Independent councillor Reyaz Ahmad and his personal security guard Shafqat Ahmad were killed on the spot while another councillor Shamsuddin Peer was injured in the attack. Peer, who suffered a bullet injury on the thigh, has been referred to a hospital here for specialised treatment, officials said.
Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Zone) Vijay Kumar visited the scene of the attack and later chaired a review meeting with top security officials of the area. Kumar directed that the four policemen posted on personal security of the protected persons be placed under suspension pending an inquiry into their conduct at the time of the attack. A police official said preliminary investigation indicates that a local militant, Mudasir Pandit of Lashkar-e-Taiba and a foreign militants, were involved in the attack. “Further investigations are rigorously going on. The IGP Kashmir also took serious note of the poor and inappropriate retaliation by the PSOs of protected persons present on spot and directed the SSP (Senior Superintendent of Police) Sopore to put four PSOs under suspension,” he said. He said cordon-and-search operations are going on at various locations to nab the assailants.