A Red Alert has been sounded across Kashmir after a police security officer posted on guard duty of PDP MLA, Ajaz Ahmad Mir, fled with 7 AK-47 rifles and a pistol of other policemen.
A senior police officer said that the SPO, Adil Bashir, fled with the service weapons from the MLA’s residence in the Srinagar’s Jawahar Nagar colony last night.
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The weapons stolen by him included 7 AK-47 rifles and a pistol.
The MLA who represents the Wachi constituency of South Kashmir was provided extra security personnel whose weapons have been carried away by the SPO.
The SPO is suspected to have been in touch with some terrorists for past some time.
Police came to know about theft of sophisticated weapons when another security officer of the MLA informed the area police station about the missing rifles and a pistol which is licensed personal weapon of the MLA.
The SPO involved in theft of weapons belongs to the Zainpora area of South Kashmir’s Shopian that is the nerve centre of terrorism.
Police has announced reward of Rs.2 lakhs for capturing the SPO with stolen weapons.
It is worth mentioning that various terrorist outfits had recently asked the SPOs to quit their jobs. However, a negligible number of about 40 out of the nearly 30,000 SPOs are reported to have responded to the quit or perish threat of terrorists.
This is not the first incident of desertion of SPO, several such incidents of SPOs fleeing with service weapons have been reported in the recent past. Many of the deserter SPOs have reportedly joined terrorist ranks.
A SPO, who had deserted with service weapon few months ago, was among the three terrorists killed on Thursday in an encounter with security forces.
