Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 11: Unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire at a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp injuring at least three CRPF personnel in south Kashmir’s Kulgam on Wednesday afternoon.
The attack took place mid-afternoon at a security check post in Nowpora, Akhran near Mir Bazar. “Three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were injured after unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire on security personnel deployed at a naka in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir this afternoon,” the CRPF said in a statement.
“The incident took place at around 2.15 pm when the assailants fired at the CRPF personnel before fleeing the spot. The injured personnel were shifted to a hospital in Anantnag district for treatment,” the statement added.
Officials said three CRPF personnel suffered bullet wounds in the attack and were shifted to a nearby hospital in Anantnag district. The attack came on a day when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha was scheduled to attend a function in Kulgam. Mr Sinha was not near the site of the attack. He was scheduled to attend the three-day Veshow Festival as the chief guest at the Government Degree College in Kulgam.
Confirming the number of injured personnel, the CRPF DG G.P Singh said, “Operations [are] going on to nab the perpetrators,” adding that best possible treatment will be given to the injured. Additional forces were rushed to the attack site and a search operation was launched to track the attackers.
Initial reports said it was a terrorist attack who opened fire with automatic rifles. The injured have been identified as Head Constable Someveer Singh and Constables Rakesh Dass and Santosh Chandru. Santosh Chandru suffered gunshot wounds in his spine and abdomen and is in a critical condition. Dass sustained an injury to his left leg while Singh was injured in his left arm in the firing.
The injured personnel were shifted to Government Medical College (GMC), Anantnag, for treatment, the CRPF said. However, arrangements are being made to shift the injured personnel to a military hospital for further treatment.
The area has been cordoned off, and a massive hunt is on for the terrorists in the area, the CRPF said in a statement. Shortly after the attack additional barricades were put up and security personnel in armoured vehicles were seen near the site as reinforcements were sent amid ambulance sirens going off and loudspeaker announcements asking locals to stay indoors.
Last month, four CRPF personnel were injured in an IED blast while carrying out the disposal of residual explosives at the Alarmedgu camp in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district. The personnel belonged to the Ammunition Technician Team (ATT) of the CRPF’s 50th Battalion. The team was tasked with inspecting several CRPF camps in the Konta Range, including Pidmel, Dabbakonta, Kolaiguda and Alarmedgu, and safely disposing of unserviceable or leftover explosives stored at these locations. During the disposal operation, a fragment of an explosive device or a bomb accidentally detonated, leaving four personnel injured.