In apparent response to alleged thrashing of family members of a Hizbul Mujahideen militant two days ago, groups of militants last night carried out raids on the residential houses of J&K police officers and personnel as well as on workers of ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in south Kashmir while they also set ablaze house of a counter-insurgent, sources said Friday.
Sources told that groups of militants in multiple Kulgam district villages barged into the residential houses of Superintendent of Police (SP), an Inspector ranking officer and other 5 policemen in Nowbal Khudwani, Qaimoh, Desan, Marhsma and Sempora Behibagh. The militants ransacked the goods in these houses of cops and threatened them of dire consequences if they didn’t quit from police.
The militants also set ablaze house of a counter-insurgent, locally called Ikhwani, in Kulgam. In neighboring Pulwama district, militants conducted similar raids at Naira, Tumlahal, Trichal and in Tral. Sources said that militants in overnight raids beat policemen, ransacked their properties and asked them to quit from their jobs.
Not only policemen, the militants also raided houses of Kashmiri CRPF personnel in Pulwama and beat them apart from ransacking properties. Some of the forces men whose houses were attacked and were beaten by militants have been identified as CRPF 183BN Constable Naseer Ali Rather of Naira, SPO Bilal Farooq Gaasi of Trichal Pulwama and SPO Farooq Magray of Tumlehal.
The house of a PDP Panch identified as Ghulam Mohiuddin at Trichal was also raided and ransacked by militants. Furthermore, the militants attempted to set ablaze house of police Head constable at Arigam in Tral. However they couldn’t set it ablaze and left from the spot. In Kareemabad Pulwama, posters asking two local cops to resign from police surfaced and they were threatened of dire consequences if they fail to abide by the direction.
Reacting to the raids on police cops’ houses, the Director General of Police (DGP) Dr Shesh Paul Vaid told reporters here that “it depicts the frustration of militants”. He said that successful anti-militancy operations carried out by police have frustrated the militants.