J&K: Policeman Killed Near His Residence in Third Targeted Attack in Three Days

Srinagar: A policeman was shot dead by suspected militants outside his residence in North Kashmir’s Tangmarg area of Baramulla district Tuesday evening, the third targeted attack in the valley in the last three days, officials said. 

The Jammu and Kashmir Police identified the victim as Ghulam Mohammad Dar, who armed assailants reportedly fired from a close range near his home in Wailoo village. The police said Dar was rushed to the Sub District Hospital Tangmarg but succumbed to injuries. 

“Injured police personnel succumbed to his injuries and attained martyrdom. We pay our rich tributes to the martyr and stand by his family at this critical juncture. Area has been cordoned off. Search operation going on,” Kashmir Zone Police wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 

Dar, who, according to locals, had seven children, is the third victim to be attacked in the valley since Sunday in back-to-back alleged targeted attacks by militant groups. Earlier, a policeman was shot at in Srinagar’s Eidgah on Sunday and later on Monday, a non-local labourer from the state of Uttar Pradesh was killed in firing at South Kashmir’s Pulwama, a second such killing in the district this year. 

More than a dozen civilians have been killed in militant attacks since January across the union territory, including the seven killings in Rajouri between January 1-2. In 2022, as many as 40 civilians were killed, and over 220 others were injured in the violence in the region. 

The fresh spate of attacks has been condemned by the regional political leadership, including the former chief ministers of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. They called the killings “cowardly”. 

“Deeply saddened to hear about the death of Head Constable Gh. Mohd. Dar of J&K Police in a militant attack earlier this evening. His death is yet another indicator of the terrible price JK Police personnel have paid in the decades-long fight against terror in the region. I pray that he finds a place in Jannat and his loved ones find strength at this difficult time,” National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah wrote on X. 

“In just a few days, we are seeing an unfortunate rise in targeted killings. I condemn each one of these cowardly acts. My deepest condolences to the family of Ghulam Mohd Dar, who was shot in Tangmarg today,” said Mehbooba Mufti, the president of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). 

Others also termed the killings as “acts of desperation” in the restive region, which has witnessed a rise in targeted violence, including against non-local labourers, since the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35 A was carried out on August 5, 2019. Authorities in union territory celebrated the J&K UT Foundation Day on Tuesday, which marks the fourth anniversary of the reorganisation of the erstwhile state. 

The UT administration, however, drew criticism from former lawmaker and senior Communist Party of India (M) leader M Y Tarigami after the killings were reported. 

“Graph of youth unemployment is rapidly rising; there seems to be no let up in targeted killings, and the development still remains a pipe dream. Despite all this, the government is celebrating UT Day. It's fitting to mourn the demolition of the historic state than to celebrate anything,”  Tarigami said in a statement.