A municipal councillor injured in a militant attack on Monday in north Kashmir’s Sopore succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday, taking the toll to three.
Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar said the policemen guarding the councillors “failed to retaliate to the fire of militants”.
The councillor, Shams-ud-Din Peer, who had suffered multiple bullet wounds, succumbed to his injuries at the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh hospital in Srinagar during the night, officials said.
Apart from Mr. Peer, another councillor and a policeman have been killed in the Sopore attack.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kumar admitted that the four personal security officers (PSOs) guarding the councillors “failed to timely retaliate and foil the attack”.
“There has been a security lapse. Had the four PSOs retaliated, the militants would not have succeeded in their efforts,” he said.
Four suspended
All the four policemen have been suspended after the incident.
He said there was no additional deployment made because the Municipal Committee chairman, Sopore, “had not informed about the meeting”, targeted by the militants later.
The IGP said an overground worker of the militants had been arrested. “The arrested youth has revealed that the attack was planned by a local Lashkar-e-Taiba and a foreign militant,” he said.
Mr. Kumar has asked all vehicles plying in J&K with non-J&K registration plates to register within 15 days with the transport authority of the Union Territory. “Militants were using such vehicles to target the security forces,” he added.
