Rakib Altaf
SRINAGAR: The militants who attacked an army convoy in Kashmir with grenades and bullets yesterday, killing eight soldiers besides wounding several others, are still at large.
The militants reportedly fled the encounter site in a Santro car, and the authorities say they are looking for them in and around Srinagar.
Twenty-four hours later, there’s still no clue about them, not even the ‘not-so-small’ car in a small city.
Instead, a photojournalist of the Indian Express had to spent three hours at a local police station, just because the colour of his car was black – the same as in which the militants had fled.
Shuaib Masoodi says he was surprised to find cops, CID officers and a bomb disposal squad near his car which he had parked outside the Jehangir hotel. The hotel houses several media offices and on Monday evening Masoodi was there with his friend having tea.
“They had attached all wires to my car and had even broken a side glass,” he told FreePress.
The journalist says the cops had even flashed an instant wireless message to everybody that the car in which the militants had fled was found at this particular place.
“But, in a typical style, without verifying things first,” he says.
“Some of the policemen knew me, but even then they took me to the Shaheedgunj police station and I had to spend three hours there from 7 pm till 10 pm.”
The scared photojournalist had only managed to call a colleague when the cops snatched his phone despite the journalist showing all the documents.
Masoodi was released only after the intervention of a senior police officer.
This morning, while clicking photos at Lalchowk, a paramilitary officer was surprised to find the journalist’s car number matching the one on his list.
Masoodi had to again convince the officer that it was a goof-up, and that he was not a “militant”.
