As many as six policemen have resigned from their posts and posted their video online moments after the bullet-ridden bodies of three cops were found in south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
According to police, militants had gunned down three policemen on Friday, hours after they were abducted from their homes. The slain policemen were issued threats to ‘resign or die.’
A police officer told IANS that locals discovered their bullet-riddled bodies in a village in the morning, triggering a widespread manhunt to identify their killers.
While resigning from their posts, one policeman said, “My name is Nawaz Ahmad Lone, resident of Kulgam. I was working as an SPO (Special Police Officer), I am resigning of my own free will, not because of any compulsion.”
Another cop, according to NDTV, said in his resignation video, “My name is Shabir Ahmad Thokar, son of Ghulam Mohammad Thokar. I was working as an SPO for last eight years. Through this video l want tell everybody that from today I have no relation with police department.”
While informing about the brutal murder of three policemen, the Jammu and Kashmir Police had tweeted, “We have lost 3 of our brave colleagues in a barbaric terror strike. Our tribute to the 3 martyred Jawans Nisar Ahmad, Firdous Kuchay & Kulwant Singh. We condemn this inhuman act and assure that all the culprits shall be dealt under law.”
The elected government had collapsed after the BJP pulled out of its alliance with Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP in June this year. The law and order in Jammu and Kashmir has only deteriorated durther since the imposition of the Governor’s Rule.
Reacting to the latest episode of the policemen’s kidnapping and their killing, Mufti tweeted, “Three more policemen have lost their lives to militant bullets. Outrage, shock & condemnation will be expressed by all of us on expected lines. Unfortunately, it brings no solace to the families of the victims.”
She added, “Clearly, with the rise in kidnapping of police personnel and their families, Centre’s muscular policy is not working at all. Dialogue, the only way forward seems to be a distant dream for now.”
Earlier this month, militants had kidnapped at least eight relatives of policemen in south Kashmir. They were freed unharmed only after the police released nearly a dozen immediate relatives of militants including a father of one Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Riaz Naikoo. This had led to the abrupt ouster of the then police chief, SP Vaid, from his post.
Earlier this week, Pakistani troops had beheaded a BSF jawan Narender Kumar, whose son Mohit Dahiya had later urged the government to ensure that his family did not have to feel ashamed on the soldier’s martyrdom.