Kashmir cop shot at by terrorist while playing cricket, gasps for life

AN officer of Jammu and Kashmir Police was critically injured after being shot at by an alleged terrorist in Srinagar, the summer capital of the Union Territory, while playing cricket on Sunday (29), official sources said.

It was said that the officer named Masroor Ahmad Wani was playing the sport at the Eidgah playground when the assailant fired three shots in his eyes, abdomen and hand from close range.

On Sundays, the Eidgah ground is usually filled with youngsters playing cricket.

Wani's teammates ran after the terrorist but he fired in the air before fleeing through adjoining lanes, they said.

Believed to be in his late thirties, Wani was rushed to a hospital in Soura in the city where he was undergoing an operation, the officials said, adding his condition was stated to be critical.

He was posted in the district police lines.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Kashmir Zone Police stated, "Terrorists fired upon and injured Inspector Masroor Ahmad near Eidgah, Srinagar. He was immediately shifted to hospital for treatment. Preliminary investigation reveals that a pistol was used in this terror crime. Area cordoned off, case registered."

The Resistance Front, a shadow outfit of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, the officials said that they had got some clues about the terrorist who carried out the attack and an operation was on to nab him.

Security was beefed up as police and the Central Reserve Police Force personnel intensified checking in Srinagar and other towns of Kashmir following the attack on Wani, officials added.

The security forces intensified the checking of vehicles and pedestrians in several parts of the city and other towns, especially in the south Kashmir district of Pulwama, they added.

(With PTI inputs)