Chadoora (Budgam), Dec 2
Militants killed a police officer and injured three others, including two policemen guarding him, in a busy market in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Monday afternoon.

Chadoora Station House Officer (SHO) Shabir Ahmad was at a shop in the town's main market, about 20 km from Srinagar city, when a gunman walked up to him and opened fire around 1.30 pm. Ahmad was hit in the chest by a burst of bullets. Budgam SP Mohammad Irshad said militants fired from close range, resulting in his death. Two other policemen guarding the SHO and a civilian were injured.

Shabir Ahmad had joined the police department as a constable in 1990 and was currently a sub-inspector. He was a resident of north Kashmir’s Uri town and had remained active in counter-insurgency operations during his career. A policeman, who identified himself as the slain SHO’s security guard, said, “I was on the other side of the road when I heard a burst of fire. When I turned around, I saw a clean-shaven man with an AK assault rifle. I fired at him but he fled.”

Shopkeepers and pedestrians fled the market as panic gripped the town and security forces laid a cordon. Police and paramilitary personnel carried out searches of nearby buildings and combed adjoining localities to track down the militants.