Indian police officer killed in Kashmir’s south

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) - A senior police official was killed in a gun battle with militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s south on Sunday, police said.

Manoj Pandita, spokesman of the police, confirmed the killing of Aman Kumar, a deputy superintendent of police, in the gun battle in Kulgam district.

In a statement, Pandita said Kumar had been heading the police’s anti-militancy wing Special Operations Group in the district for over one and a half year.

"It is an unfortunate incident, in which we have lost a brave officer. He was a fighter and he led Sunday's operation himself,” said Dilbag Singh, police chief in the region.

According to police, a joint group of Indian forces -- including the Indian Army, the Central Reserve Police Force and the Special Operations Group of the police -- carried out an operation against the militants after receiving information about the presence of militants in Turigam village.

Meanwhile, Indian media reported that two militants and another army soldier were also killed in the gun battle, but there has been no official confirmation in this regard.

The police said that the gun battle is still going on.

Kashmir witnessed a complete shutdown on Sunday as part of a protest against the arrests of Kashmiri leaders by Indian forces.

Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.