Militants on Monday evening took away five service rifles from police guards manning a picket for the security of a minority community in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
Sources said that a group of militants encircled a minority picket at Samnoo village near Nihama in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district around 8 pm. They asked the police guards to surrender their weapons and fled from the scene immediately after catching hold on the weaponry, local sources said.
Sources said that five rifles with 20 magazines have been snatched from the police personnel, who were guarding families belonging to a minority community.
Since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8 that triggered massive unrest in Kashmir, the incidents of rifles snatching have increased in south Kashmir.
Security agencies maintain that a large number of youngsters have joined the militant ranks who are getting armed with the rifles snatched from the police personnel.
The militants have snatched rifles from the security guards of a ruling PDP Member Parliament, a former CPI legislator and a National Conference leader in past one month.