Day after staffer killed in Rajouri district, relative claims seeing three armed men at attack site

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, April 23

A day after a government employee was killed by terrorists in Rajouri district, a key witness, who is also a relative of the victim, said he had seen three armed men at the incident site.

Search op launched

• A massive search operation was launched in the forest areas of Rajouri to nab the terrorists behind the act. A cordon and search operation was carried out jointly by the Army, CRPF and J&K police
• A police official said the attack was the handiwork of two Pakistan-trained terrorists
• One of the attackers has been identified as Abu Hamza and a bounty of Rs 10 lakh has been announced on him

Mohammad Razaq (40) was killed by terrorists on Monday evening in the Kunda Top area. Razaq was a government official in the Social Welfare Department of J&K government. He had got the job as compensation after his father Mohammad Akbar also killed by terrorists 14 years ago.

Imran, an eyewitness who is also a relative of the victim, said he had seen three men at the site, of which he had also seen the face of one.

“I heard a loud thud and thought that it was a cylinder blast. I went out of my home and saw my uncle Mohammad Tahir (brother of Razaq) running towards a local shrine. A man with a gun was running behind him whose face I saw clearly,” said Imran.

He said when he entered the house, he saw Razaq in a pool of blood. Imran claimed that the three culprits were clean shaven with shot hair. A police official said Tahir might have been the main target as he serves in the Territorial Army. The official added that the attack was the handiwork of two Pakistan-trained terrorists. One of the attackers has been identified as Abu Hamza and a bounty of Rs 10 lakh has been announced on him.

The Rajouri police said a case had been registered under Sections 302, 120-B, 121-A, 122 and 458 of the IPC and Sections 7/27 of the IAA and 13, 15 and 16 of the UAPA at the Thanamandi police station.

Massive search operations were launched in the forest areas of Rajouri to nab the terrorists behind the act. A cordon and search operation was carried out jointly by the Army, CRPF and J&K police.

The incident took place sometime after the Director General of Police, RR Swain, had reviewed security preparedness for the Anantnag constituency, which also includes Rajouri, for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The DGP had held detailed discussions with senior officers of the police, CRPF, Army, ITBP, BSF, SSB and intelligence agencies. The meeting focused on the security arrangements put in place for the smooth conduct of the elections. The DGP had sought inputs from the officers on various projects planned to ensure safe and secure elections.

During the meeting, emphasis was given on the critical need for joint area domination by the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), police, and the Army before and during the election period.