Five arrested in J&K for killing policeman, stealing weapon

Srinagar : Five persons were arrested on Saturday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Badgam district for killing a policeman and snatching his weapon in Chrar-e-Sharief town in January, police said.

A group of militants had, on January 25, fired upon constable Kultar Singh, of the 13th battalion of state armed police, deployed to guarding the Chrar-e-Sharief shrine, injuring him severely and snatched away his rifle, police said. He later succumbed to his injuries.

According to a police statement, investigations revealed that Umar Farooq, a resident of Pulwama district, along with five other accomplices – Shahid Ahmad, Shahid Khurshid, Imran Feroz, all residents of Pulwama and Mudasir Ahmad Wani and Towheed Rather, residents of Pampore, hatched a criminal conspiracy to snatch the weapon from the police guard deployed at the shrine.

The five carried out a recce of the area and the sentry post’s location before executing the attack, it added.

“During investigations, while picking up vital evidence, police also seized the vehicle used for commission of the crime by the group. Investigations have also led to clinching evidence against all the accused regarding their entering into conspiracy and commission of the crime,” said the statement, adding that all the accused other than Shahid Ahmad have been arrested.

“Investigations have also revealed that Shahid Ahmad has joined the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) outfit and is still at large,” it said.

IANS