Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], November 12 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday expressed profound grief over the killing of two Special Police Officers (SPOs) in Kishtwar district, strongly condemning the incident as a "cowardly act of violence" and extending condolences to the bereaved families.
In a post shared on X, the Office of the Chief Minister said the Chief Minister was deeply anguished over the tragic killing of SPOs Rashpal Kumar and Babi Chand and prayed for strength and courage for their families to bear the irreparable loss.
"Chief Minister has expressed profound grief and anguish over the tragic killing of two Special Police Officers, SPO Rashpal Kumar and SPO Babi Chand, in Kishtwar district. Strongly condemning the cowardly act of violence, the Chief Minister extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for strength and courage to bear this irreparable loss," the office wrote.
https://x.com/CM_JnK/status/2120873011423387840
The bullet-riddled bodies of the two personnel, identified as Babi Chand (57) and Rashpal Kumar (45), were recovered on Thursday morning, a day after they went missing in the remote Dachhan belt of Kishtwar district.
The two SPOs were posted with the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the local police at Kiyar village in Dachhan. They went missing on Wednesday while travelling from their camp towards an Army post at Dharna-Marwah.
Kishtwar MLA Shagun Parihar also expressed grief over the killings, saying the bodies of the two personnel were recovered at around 8 am and 9 am, respectively.
"Regarding the incident in which two SPOs (Special Police Officers) were reportedly killed—what are your thoughts? It is a truly tragic incident. Two of our SPOs from the southern region have been killed. They had gone missing last night, and their bodies were recovered this morning—one around 8:00 AM and the other around 9:00 AM. It is deeply saddening," Parihar said.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference president Farooq Abdullah called on Pakistan to end terrorism and choose dialogue to resolve outstanding issues, amid a series of security incidents in the Union Territory.
"Terrorism exists, but we must not be intimidated by it. Kashmir was, is, and will always remain a part of India. I have always told Pakistan: put an end to terrorism. Terrorism will lead nowhere. Choose the path of dialogue; that is the only way a solution can be found. We were once part of the same nation. We must revive SAARC so that we can all sit together, resolve our issues, and move toward progress," Abdullah said.
In a separate development, CRPF Special Director General Sandeep Khirwar on Thursday called on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and discussed the prevailing security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, according to a release from Lok Bhawan.
The meeting came a day after, in a separate incident, three CRPF personnel from the 46th Battalion were injured when an unidentified assailant opened fire on them while they were on 'naka' (checkpost) duty in the Nowpora Akhran area of Kulgam district around 2:15 pm on Wednesday.
The injured personnel were identified as Head Constable Somveer Singh and Constables Rakesh Dass and Santosh Chandru. Chandru sustained injuries to his abdomen and spine and was stated to be in serious condition, while Dass suffered a bullet injury to his leg and Singh sustained a bullet injury to his arm. The latter two were stated to be stable.
The injured personnel were initially shifted to Anantnag district hospital, following which Chandru was referred to Srinagar's Badamibagh Army Hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, a multi-agency search operation involving the Jammu and Kashmir Police, CRPF and the Indian Army has been launched at various locations to trace those responsible for the attack on the CRPF personnel.
Officials privy to the investigation told ANI that preliminary inputs collected from the spot indicated the involvement of a single attacker, who allegedly approached on foot and opened fire using a high-calibre weapon, possibly an AK-47, before fleeing.
"Only one person fired on the CRPF personnel deployed on the naka. The shooter fired from a range of around 50-60 metres. It was a sudden fire from the row of closed shops across the road near the naka," an official said, citing information gathered from the spot.
Ramban Police and members of the public also observed a two-minute silence on Thursday to pay tribute to the two SPOs who lost their lives in the line of duty.