A Sashastra Seema Bal jawan was killed and eight others were injured on Friday when militants attacked a convoy of three SSB vehicles at Zakura, on the outskirts of Srinagar. The militants fled after firing at the convoy and security personnel have mounted a search operation.
Police said “the jawans were on their way to a camp when they were attacked. The jawans retaliated and the firing lasted 15 minutes. A senior police officer said a jawan succumbed to injuries at the hospital. “The condition of two other jawans is critical,” he said.
Following the attack, the J&K Police Special Operations Group and paramilitary forces launched a search operation in the area. The injured jawans have been taken to the Army base hospital.
“We heard gunshots close to the CRPF camp and the police station. After 10 minutes, the firing stopped and we heard single shots being fired for the next 10 minutes. We thought it was an attack on either the police or the CRPF,” Rayees Ahmad, a resident of the area, said.
Police officers said they had inputs that militants might try to target police or the CRPF in the city. On Wednesday, the IG Police had said personnel were on high alert.
Meanwhile, Governor N N Vohra chaired a high-level security meeting, attended by top police, Army and paramilitary officers, at the Raj Bhavan. After the meeting, an official spokesperson reiterated the need for “a multi-agency security audit to be conducted by the state police in close collaboration with the IB, CAPF, Army, Air Force and other agencies concerned”.
The spokesperson said that against the backdrop of terror attacks in Poonch, Uri, Handwara and Pampore, it was decided that surveillance should be enhanced not only along the IB and the LoC but also in the hinterland.