Former Jammu and Kashmir SPO shot dead by suspected militants in Pulwama; operation launched to nab perpetrators

Suspected militants gunned down a former Special Police Officer in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday, according to PTI. According to CNN-News18, the man killed in the attack has been identified as 25-year-old Aashiq Ahmed Nayek, a resident of Pingleena village in Pulwama district. Reports said that Ahmed was shot outside his home on Wednesday afternoon. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was was declared brought dead on arrival. [caption id=“attachment_6252551” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image of soldiers. Courtesy: 101Reporters[/caption] Nayek had joined the Indian Army’s Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry unit, but left in September last year as he could not cope with the training, officials told PTI. A joint team of the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Special Operations Group have launched a cordon-and-search operation in the area to nab the attackers. News of Ahmed’s death comes only two days after Mudasir Ahmed Khan, the mastermind of the 14 February Pulwama attack, which resulted in the deaths of over 40 CRPF personnel, was killed in Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir. This is not the first time security personnel from the state have been killed while visiting home. In July 2018, militants had gunned down a BSF constable in Jammu and Kashmir’s Sumbal area, while in June last year, Rashtriya Rifles jawan Aurangzeb was abducted and killed by terrorists when he was returning to his hometown Poonch. In May last year, Lt Ummer Fayaz was shot dead in Shopian district, where he was attending a wedding ceremony.