A 20-year-old youth was reportedly killed in a crossfire between security forces and suspected terrorists near a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Sunday, police said .
The youth’s death comes at a time when Union home minister Amit Shah is on a three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir following a series of civilian killings this month by suspected terrorists.
Officials said 20 year old Shahid Aijaz Rather was hit by bullets at Babapora, Zainapora in Shopian distrcit just outside the camp of CRPF’s 178 battalion.
Block medical officer of Zainapora, Dr Khalid Abbas said the young man was brought dead to the hospital. “We are conducting his post mortem,” he said.
Locals said Shahid, a resident of neighbouring Anantnag district, was a milkman by profession and drove a vehicle with milk cans.
CRPF said an area domination party of the force was targeted by suspected terrorists just outside the 178 battalion camp.
“Preliminary information is that a camp party outside the 178 battalion camp was fired upon and they retaliated. We are ascertaining the details,” said CRPF spokesperson, Junaid Khan.
Police said Rather was killed in cross firing. Shopian superintendent of police Amritpal Singh said around 10:30am unidentified militants attacked a checkpoint search party of CRPF’s 178 Battalion at Babapora in Shopian.
“CRPF retaliated and one unidentified person was killed in the cross firing. Further details are being ascertained,” Singh said.
This is the second such death in Kashmir this month. On October 7, Parvaiz Ahmad Bokad, a tribal, was killed when CRPF opened fire on a vehicle, allegedly charging at a checkpoint at Monghal Bridge in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Police then said that the vehicle without number plate was signalled to stop by CRPF’s Naka-party, however, it instead sped towards the CRPF party, prompting the troops to open fire.
Bokad’s family had protested his death and said he didn’t deserve to be killed irrespective of whether he jumped a naka (barricade) or not.
Sunday’s incident comes amid a heightened security environment in Jammu and Kashmir following suspected terrorists killing 11 civilians including non-locals and minorities this month. Home minister Amit Shah has been reviewing the security situation during his first visit to the Union Territory (UT) since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 and splitting of the region into two UTs.
