Tags:
Journalism of Courage
After engineering blasts in the border town of Rajouri on two consecutive days this week, militants today targeted Poonch during a Moharram procession. A DSP and a head constable were among the five killed and seven others were injured when a militant lay siege on a hotel in Poonch. People taking part in a Moharram procession, some distance away, ran for cover on hearing the gunshots.
Sources said the encounter began around 2.30 pm when an extremist in army uniform, who was watching today’s cricket match at the hotel reception, suddenly opened fire on a police party passing by. He then ran towards the roof and started spraying bullets. The Army ended the siege by killing the militant in the evening. The deceased have been identified as DSP (HQ) Manjit Singh and constable Manohar Lal.
The troops had to blow up a portion of the hotel during the encounter. Till late in the night, three bodies of civilians were recovered from under the debris. It is believed that five to six militants had taken shelter in the hotel.
