PoK prisoner killed in police van blast in Sopore

An undertrial militant from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) died in a mysterious grenade blast when he was being escorted to Srinagar Central Jail in a police van after a court hearing in north Kashmir’s Sopore town. Five policemen were wounded in the blast.

Police sources said the blast occurred at Hygam, 40 kilometres from here, on Srinagar-Baramulla highway on Saturday afternoon killing the undertrial Waheed Noor Khan, a resident of Rawlakot in PoK, on the spot. He was handcuffed when the explosive went off.

Khan was undergoing trial in a case related to killing of four policemen in Sopore area. A Hizbul Mujahideen militant, he was arrested by police in 2012 from Srinagar. “The handcuffed undertrial died on the spot and three of our policemen were critically injured,” Deputy Inspector General of Police (north Kashmir) Gareeb Das said.