A special police officer (SPO), his wife and daughter have been shot dead by terrorists of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit in the Awantipora area of south Kashmir.
Two terrorists, one of whom is believed to be a Pakistani, barged into the house of SPO Fayaz Ahmad around midnight on Sunday and indiscriminately fired at him. His wife Raja Begum and daughter Rafia tried to rescue him but they were also shot by terrorists.
Fayaz died on the spot and his wife later succumbed in the hospital. Their daughter died in a Srinagar hospital on Monday.
Police said that the SPO, his wife and daughter received critical gunshot injuries during the indiscriminate firing by terrorists.
The area has been cordoned and a massive search operation launched for the terrorists. IGP (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar said movement of terrorists was reported in the area. Two terrorists came on Sunday night and one of them appeared to be Pakistani. They will soon be traced and neutralized, he said.
Killing of the SPO has come within few days of assassination of a CID inspector in Srinagar by terrorists who were targeting CRPF and police check posts.
Former chief ministers, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, have condemned the “dastardly and cowardly” killing of the SPO. “I unreservedly condemn the dastardly & cowardly militant attack on the J&K police SPO Fayaz Ahmed, his wife & his young daughter at their home last night”, tweeted Omar.
Mehbooba took to twitter saying; “No words are strong enough to condemn the cowardly attack in Awantipora that claimed the lives of a JKP officer Fayaz Ahmad, his wife & daughter”.