Killing of PDP leader’s PSO attempt to disrupt ongoing election process in Kashmir: DGP Dilbagh Singh

Jammu and Kashmir police chief Dilbagh Singh Monday said that the killing of a Personal Security Officer (PSO) of a PDP leader at Natipora, Srinagar, is an attempt to disrupt the ongoing election process and the prevailing peaceful environment across Kashmir.

He said that police have clues about the number of militants involved in the attack and area where they came from and that “attackers will soon be brought to book.”

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of wreath laying ceremony of Manzoor Ahmed at District Police Lines (DPL) Srinagar, the DGP said that one must understand that J&K is going through an important exercise at present—the exercise at the grassroots level and there is a huge participation of people, which is commendable.

PSO Manzoor was guarding PDP senior leader Haji Pervez Ahmed at Natipora, Srinagar, and sustained bullet wounds after militants fired at him at Pervez’s residence early this morning. He was shifted to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

“There have been elaborate security arrangements but we can’t put the movement of people to a complete halt while ensuring the grassroot level exercise. In between, there is a hidden movement of an odd number of anti-national elements as well,” he said.

The DGP said that in Poonch, a group of Lashkar-e-Toiba militants had infiltrated and were trying to reach Shopian but couldn’t due to snow accumulation in the area. “Their motive too was to disrupt the ongoing election process. We offered them surrender multiple times with an aim that we could show the world that how our neighbor is fomenting trouble in Kashmir. But the militants refused to surrender and were killed in the encounter,” he said, adding that “we have enough evidence and incriminating material recovered from the slain militants by which we can prove what their motive was.”

RK