Panic gripped on Srinagar-Jammu highway when unidentified militants reportedly three to four in number resorted to indiscriminate firing on a Road Opening Party (ROP) of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) near Halmula Sangam bridge in South Kashmir’s Islamabad district on Monday.Eyewitnesses told CNS that shopkeepers downed their shutters while traffic near Sangam came to a stand-still after continuous gun shots reverberated in air. “We didn’t first understand what was going on. We simply downed our shutters and ran for safety. It was clear only after couple of minutes that unidentified gunmen have targeted a CRPF patrolling party killing two of them on spot,” a shopkeeper told CNS.
Public Relations Officer CRPF informed that two CRPF personnel including an ASI from 90 Battalion were killed on spot when militants three to four in number fired upon them. “Militants managed to snatch an AK-47 rifle before disappearing from the scene,” Ashish Kumar Jha told CNS and identified the deceased as ASI Omakar Singh and Constable Tilak Raj.Soon after the incident, large contingent of police, CRPF and Army rushed to spot and cordoned off the area to flush out the militants. (CNS)