A son killed in a security operation two years ago and now father assassinated in a militant strike. It can’t get as bizarre and tragic as this one but in Kashmir this isn’t unusual.
The Lone family from Kulgam is reliving a tragedy that hit them two years ago. On Tuesday evening, on-duty police assistant sub inspector Mushtaq Ahmad Lone was shot in Lal Bazar area of Srinagar while two cops were injured in a deadly militant attack just when they were negotiating traffic.
The market was open, people were rushing home and traffic was at a frenzy just as it is in the peak hours of the evening. After firing on the trio, militants managed to get out of the area well before police and paramilitary could nab them.
On Wednesday, the militants released a 39-second edited video that had filmed the whole shooting sequence very closely. The militants had used body cameras to film and the sole purpose, noted former Director General of Police S P Vaid to demoralise the police. “They are desperate to show their presence. That is why they shot the video and released it. The motive is to demoralise the police but the terrorists would be taken care of soon,” remarked the former top cop.
Meanwhile, emotions ran high last night when Lone’s body was placed in a casket at Srinagar’s district police lines. Distraught family members who had come all the way from Kulgam were seen wailing and flinging themselves at his body even as police men tried to pacify them. Top police and civil officials bid a floral farewell to Lone.
Twice in last two years the family had lost a member. In April 2020, Lone’s son Aaqib Mushtaq was killed by in an “encounter” in the Asthal Gudder area of Kulgam.
Police had then termed Aaqib as a militant and said “he fired from a pistol and hurled a grenade” but the family had denied the allegations saying he had landed in his native village after completing his engineering from a college in Chandigarh. The allegations and counter allegations ran for some time before dying altogether.
In a statement on ASI’s killings, police said terrorists opened fire on a naka of police personnel in the Lal Bazar area injuring three policemen, including a sub-inspector. The trio was rushed to the nearby hospital, however, sub-inspector identified as Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, son of Adul Jabbar Lone, succumbed to his injuries.
Police has registered a case under relevant sections of law and initiated investigation, it said. ADG Kashmir Vijay Kumar told reporters that police will be analysing CCTV footage to find which module was responsible for the killing of 56-year-old Lone.
Family members said Lone had been working in police for over two decades now and is survived by his widow, two daughters and son.
Meanwhile, The Resistance Front, which police believes is a frontal of Lashkar-e-Toiba, took responsibility for the attack. In a statement that was circulated on social media, it said, “Cadre of Falcon Squad #TRF carried out a surprise attack on stooge forces at Lal Bazar area of Srinagar City in which a stooge JKP official died on spot and 03 other stooges got seriously injured.” The statement said surprise attacks will be carried out throughout the valley particularly on collaborators, traitors and the JKP stooges. “Our next surprise attack will be more surprising,” the TRF warned.
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