Ex-cop shot dead by militants at mosque in J-K’s Baramulla

Ex-cop shot dead by militants at mosque in J-K’s Baramulla

A retired senior superintendent of police (SSP) was shot dead by terrorists on Sunday morning when he was praying at a local mosque in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

The cop has been identified as 72-year-old Mohammad Shafi Mir, who was killed at Gantmulla village of Sheeri in Uri. He retired as SSP in 2012.

The area was cordoned off, police said.

Recalling the moments before Mohammad Shafi Mir was killed, his cousin Mohammad Mustafa, who was at home, said the call for the pre-dawn prayers was being given by a loudspeaker and suddenly it stopped. His last words were “reham (mercy)”, he said.

“He (Mir) was my cousin. He used to call for prayers every day. This morning, while I was reading the Quran, as usual, he started the ‘azaan’, so I closed the Quran.” “He recited ‘Ashhadu Anna Mohammadu Rasool-Allah’ and then the ‘azaan’ stopped. I only heard a shout of ‘reham’ (mercy). It was in a heavy voice,” he said, as quoted by PTI.

Mustafa said he thought Mir might have stopped his call due to some other reason and guessed he could have collapsed due to dizziness. But it was after some time that people came to know about the incident, he said.

“My daughter came and told me that Shafi uncle is died. We went to his house and learnt that Mir had been taken to Baramulla (hospital)…we were told he had suffered bullet injuries,” he said. Some of Mir’s relatives claimed he was shot four times.

Mir had become the local “muezzin” — a person who calls for prayers — and he was devoted to his duties at the mosque, his family members said. Mir is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

STORY | Retired police officer shot dead by militants in J-K's BaramullaREAD: https://t.co/ThGNNaXvIxVIDEO: pic.twitter.com/l01QpgH2gt

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 24, 2023

Political parties condemned the killing and expressed their condolences to the former police officer’s family. The National Conference (NC) said violence can never be tolerated in any form. “JKNC president Dr Farooq Abdullah and VP @OmarAbdullah express profound sadness over the tragic Baramulla incident, where retired SP Mohammad Shafi was senselessly shot dead,” the party said in a post on X.

Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said innocent people have become “collateral damage to maintain the facade of normalcy touted” by the Centre.

“Five jawans martyred in a militant ambush, three innocent civilians tortured to death in custody by army, many still battling for their lives in hospitals and now a retired SP killed. Innocent people have become collateral damage to maintain the facade of normalcy touted by GoI,” Mufti posted on X.