Another army officer killed in Kashmir gunfight, toll now six

Srigar, Feb 21: Another officer of the Indian army's elite Para Regiment was killed on Sunday evening in the ongoing gunfight between guerrillas and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district while an injured soldier died in hospital, taking the toll to six, police said.

A senior police officer said Captain Tushar Mahajan was killed Sunday evening in the over 24-hour-long ongoing gunfight between holed-up guerrillas and security forces inside the Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) complex in Pampore town on the Srigar-Jammu tiol highway.

The toll in the gunfight now comprises three soldiers, two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers and a civilian identified as Abdul Gani Mir of Gundipora village of Pulwama district, who worked as a gardener at the JKEDI complex.

A total of 13 other security men have so far been injured in the gunfight that started on Saturday when guerrillas attacked a CRPF bus on the Srigar-Jammu tiol highway at Sempora in the district. n More on Page 9