Terror attack in Kathua: Two militants, three security men killed

Jammu: Two militants in Army fatigues stormed a police station in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district early on Friday, killing three security personnel and two civilians and leaving 10 others, including a senior police officer injured, in the first major terror attack in the state since the PDP-BJP coalition government took charge this month. The two terrorists, who were members of a fidayeen squad which had infiltrated overnight, were also killed in a fierce gunbattle with security forces that ended around noon. [caption id=“attachment_2165381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Security personnel at the site of an encounter with militants, at Raj Bagh Police station in Jammu on Friday. PTI Photo[/caption] This is the first major militant attack in the state since the formation of the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed-led PDP-BJP coalition government in the state on 1 March. Dressed in Army uniforms, the militants stormed the Rajbagh Police Station in the wee hours, hurled grendes and opened indiscriminate fire. “It is a fidayeen attack,” IGP Jammu Danish Rana said. “In all, seven people have been killed. The two militants have been killed. Besides two civilians, two CRPF men, a policeman also died in the encounter. Operation has ended,” Rana said. He said that 10 people including 7 CRPF men, 2 cops and a civilian were injured and have been hospitalised. The injured included a Deputy Superintendent of Police. Rana said it appears that the militants infiltrated overnight from across the border to conduct the suicide attack on the police station. The Director General of Police (DGP), J&K K Rajindra Kumar said the militants carried a large number of grenades, magazines and pistols to sustain themselves in the operation. Some important documents and arms and ammunitions have been recovered, Rana said. An injured CRPF constable Bharat Prabhu said the militants intercepted a jeep going from Jammu to Pathankot on the pretext of checking the vehicle. The ultras then hijacked the jeep which had three passengers on board and fled towards the Rajbagh Police Station where they opened fire on a sentry and killed him. The militants tossed grenades at the police station and opened indiscriminate fire. “We had gunned down one terrorist before we were injured,” Prabhu said. The police station looked like a battle ground with bullet holes on the wall. The attack triggered panic among people living close to the police station. “As the firing started at the police station, we closed our windows and kept our family on the ground floor. We spent several hours in fear,” Sham Lal, who lives close to the police station, said. Blaming non-state actors for the Kathua terror attack, Chief Minister Mufti Mohmmad Sayeed on Friday warned them saying that the will of the people cannot be weakened by any gun. “I want to warn those people (who engineered the terror attacks) that the will of the people cannot be weakened by any gun. I want to send them a message they should not create any hurdles in this (path of democracy),” Mufti told the Assembly. “We have a strong resolve that we have come to change the history of J-K. We want to make J-K hub of peace and normalcy. Nobody can stop us,” he said. Additional troops have been rushed to the spot and the Jammu-Pathankot Highway has been closed as a precautionary measure. Entire area in and around the police station has been cordoned off. Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to the DGP of Jammu and Kashmir and took stock of the situation. Singh has directed the Home Secretary to closely monitor the situation. The attack figured in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly with Opposition members seeking an explanation from the government on the incident. The issue was raised by NC MLA Devender Singh Rana, who wanted to know what steps were taken by the government to thwart such attacks. He said the House wants to know how the militant attack took place. While condemning the attack, CPI (M) MLA M Y Tarigami said the House needs to show a united face in condemning such tragedies and expressed sympathy with the family of those killed in the attack. Congress members led Ravinder Sharma staged a walkout from Legislative Council after staging protests in the well of the house over security failure. “We condemn it. It is security failure of the government”, Sharma said. Education Minister and PDP Chief Spokesman Naeem Akhtar said, “Violence has no place in society. It has to be eradicated. We will make efforts to stamp out militancy”. “Today’s encounter has once again reaffirmed the fact that Pakistan is refusing to mend its ways,” Union Minister Jitendra Singh said. Condemning the attack, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, “These types of attacks have taken in the past also and the route has been repeatedly used by them. “I can say with confidence that once the probe of this encounter is done, you will find that these militants might have infiltrated during the night. They found Kathua Police station as the first target and attacked it”. Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) President Gulam Ahmed Mir said the incident was due to “security lapses”. There have been several such attacks in the area in the past years. On March 28, 2014, three Pakistani fidayeen hijacked a vehicle along with the driver after killing a passenger in Hiranagar. They then attacked an Army camp at Janglot in which an Army soldier was killed. The three militants were subsequently killed. On September 26, 2013, a group of Pakistani terrorists dressed in Army fatigues, killed at least 10 persons, including a Lt Colonel, in twin terror attacks on the Hiranagar police station in Kathua district and an Army camp in neighbouring Samba district. On October 1, 2002, militants had shot dead seven people in a deadly attack on a passenger bus in the area. PTI