Policeman suspended after his service rifle is snatched by militants in J-K's Kishtwar

A policeman, whose service rifle was snatched by suspected terrorists from his rented accommodation in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, was placed under suspension even as a massive search operation is on to arrest the culprits and recover the weapon, a senior police officer said Saturday.

Daleep Kumar, who was posted as personal security officer (PSO) of District Development Commissioner, Kishtwar, Angrez Singh Rana, was reportedly overpowered by the gunmen who intruded into his residence at Asrarabad near Shaheedi Mazar in the town late Saturday night and decamped with his AK-47 rifle and a mobile.

"The policeman has been placed under suspension and is being questioned. His mobile phone was recovered from an open area during the search operation," Senior Superintendent of Police, Kishtwar, Shakti Pathak told PTI.

He said the search operation was launched immediately after the receipt of the information about the incident and was still going on.

"No one was arrested or detained in connection with the incident so far. We are on the job to crack the case," the officer said.

The policeman claimed that the gunmen threatened him and his family members before fleeing the scene with his service rifle and the mobile, he said.

Suspected terrorists killed a senior BJP leader and his brother in the town in November last year. The National Investigation Agency is investigating the double murder case, which brought the hilly district under the spotlight once again after it was declared terrorist free over a decade ago.

The NIA is yet to announce a breakthrough in the killings.