Militants snatch 5 guns from police post in Valley

SRINAGAR: Suspected militants dressed in Army fatigues snatched five rifles from a police post guarding TV tower in Dooru area of Anantnag in yet another incident of weapon snatching in south Kashmir.

In the wee hours of Monday, around eight people — some of whom were allegedly armed — barged into the police post and overpowered four security guards and took away one carbine, one INSAS assault rifle, three self-loading rifles (SLRs), and around 300 cartridges.

“Many local boys want to join militant ranks, but they are asked to snatch a weapon first to prove their sincerity and bravado. Besides, it blocks all possible ways to backtrack,” a senior police official told ET.

Suspected militants have now stolen around 33 rifles in south Kashmir in about a month.

This has triggered panic in the state police department, which has initiated enquiries in different incidents and is also probing possible involvement of some policemen, an official said.

“Two rifles snatched from Damhal Hanjipora area, were recovered just three days back and two locals were detained. One rifle snatched recently was spotted in a militant video released recently,” another police official told ET.

The J&K police has also asked all the districts to prepare a report, detailing the weak spots where the policemen are susceptible to weapon snatching.

In a separate incident, militants opened fire at a police post in Sirnoo area of Pulwama district late Sunday night. Police retaliated immediately, forcing the militants to flee.