One policeman was shot dead by separatist militants while 14 people, including seven tourists, were injured in a grenade explosion at the tourist resort of Pahalgam in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.
SRINAGAR: One policeman was shot dead by separatist militants while 14 people, including seven tourists, were injured in a grenade explosion at the tourist resort of Pahalgam in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.
Separatist guerrillas shot dead head constable Ghulam Qadir, an official of the special intelligence branch, at Pastun village near Awantipore, 42 km from here.
"Militants stopped the car of Ghulam Qadir near Awantipore and fired several pistol rounds at him from close range. Qadir died instantly," said a senior police officer here.
The explosion on Thursday afternoon at the popular tourist resort of Pahalgam took place when separatist guerrillas hurled a grenade at some policemen near a hotel in the town.
Sheikh Owais, deputy inspector general of police south Kashmir range, told IANS on phone from Pahalgam: "The grenade exploded behind the Purnima hotel in Pahalgam town injuring 14 people, including seven domestic tourists and seven locals. The condition of one of the injured tourists has been described as critical.
"We have arranged for evacuation of the injured tourist to Srinagar city for better medical care."
Tension mounted in the tourist resort that is thronged by hundreds of tourists.
Late on Wednesday night, a police party came under heavy fire from unidentified gunmen at Aragam village in north Kashmir's Bandipore, 52 km from here, resulting in serious injuries to two policemen.
The injured cops were brought to a medical institute here for treatment, but one of them, constable Nazir Ahmed, succumbed to his wounds in the morning.
Pahalgam is the traditional base camp for the annual Hindu pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath. This year's yatra (pilgrimage) to the shrine begins on May 11 and will continue for two months.
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