Railway head constable killed in Pulwama attack, Sub-inspector critical

SRINAGAR: A Railway Protection Force (RPF) head constable was killed and a sub-inspector suffered critical bullet wounds in a terrorist attack in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district when they were out buying groceries at a store outside Kakapora railway station around 5.30pm on Monday.

An officer said sub-inspector Devraj Kumar and head constable

Surinder Kumar

were not in uniform when terrorists spotted them and fired automatics from close range. Both were taken to hospital, where doctors declared

Surinder

dead on arrival. Devraj was later shifted to Srinagar and his condition is said to be extremely grave.

Authorities ring-fenced J&K’s security network with heightened surveillance, stakeouts and patrols as the attack happened close to PM Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Jammu on April 24—his first since the abrogation of Article 370 and carving of the former state into two Union territories in August 2019.

Terrorists have been more active lately in what intelligence agencies call a “spring offensive” after the winter months when the cold and snow restrict their movement. They have been targeting migrants, non-Kashmiri residents, apart from security forces.

Sepoy Neshan Singh

of the Army’s 19 Rashtriya Rifles was killed in a shootout with terrorists in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Saturday, while a sarpanch was shot dead in an orchard in north Kashmir’s Baramulla on Friday evening. It was the fourth murder of an elected village representatives since March this year.

Terrorists gunned down a 55-year-old driver from the Rajput community in south Kashmir's Kulgam district on April 13, taking the number of attacks targeting mostly migrants and Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley to six in 11 days.

On March 26, J&K policeman Ishaq Ahmad and his brother were killed when terrorists barged into their home and opened fire in central Kashmir’s Budgam district. Thousands of mourners gathered at the brothers’ funeral the next day and shouted slogans against the attackers. Human rights activists held a sit-on at

Lal Chowk

in Srinagar in protest against the twin murders.