Kashmir: Ex-SSP Shot Dead While Praying at Local Mosque

On Sunday morning, suspected militants shot and killed a retired senior superintendent of police (SSP) while he was praying at a local mosque in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir. The victim, Mohammad Shafi Mir, was attacked in Gantmulla village of Sheeri in Uri, an area that had remained relatively peaceful and free from militancy for over a decade.

According to the police, the assailants fired upon Mohammad Shafi Mir during the morning call to prayer, known as Azan, resulting in fatal injuries. Mir, who had retired as an SSP in 2012, was residing in one of the more tranquil regions of the Kashmir Valley. Despite the generally peaceful environment, he had been under the protection of a personal security officer (PSO), but this security detail had been recently withdrawn.

Following the attack, a joint team of Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Indian Army swiftly cordoned off the area in an effort to locate and apprehend the militants responsible. “The area has been cordoned off. Further details are awaited,” stated a police officer in response to the incident. The killing of the retired SSP marks a tragic escalation of violence in an area that had enjoyed relative calm for an extended period.