SRINAGAR: The Hizbul Mujahideen militant group fighting New Delhi’s rule in Kashmir has announced a reward for its members who killed four policemen in north Kashmir’s Sopore area on Friday.
“The Chief Operations Commander of the organisation has announced a cash reward of five lakh rupees to the mujahideen who carried out an attack on the task force personnel and snatched their arms,” Hizb spokesman, Baleegudin told a local news agency KNS by phone.
Four policemen died on April 26 after militants attacked them soon after they disembarked from their vehicle at Hygam village.
Police say the cops were lured into the ambush by a caller who had complained about the presence of thieves in the area. Sources say the militants gave the policemen no time to retaliate as they brought a volley of fire on them.
Announcements of reward by militant commanders have been rare in Kashmir where an armed conflict began more than two decades ago.
Observers say the militants may have thought of it as necessary after the police organised special prayers for their colleagues who were killed on Friday.
“The police is working very hard. The special prayers were never ever held before and it is a new thing that the police officers are doing. They are trying to change the perception of the people and also tell their colleagues that they stand by them,” says a writer who did not wish to be named.
The April 26 attack happened barely five days after the police claimed to have achieved success by busting a module of the Lashkar e Toiba militant group operating in Sopore.
Separatist violence has been on the decline for many years now in Kashmir where tens of thousands of people have died since violence erupted in 1989. The police put the number of militants still active in the valley at 78.
