A retired Superintendent of Police was shot dead at a mosque in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district in the early hours of Sunday. Police said the retired officer, identified as Mohammad Shafi Mir, was fired upon at Peth Gantmulla village on the Baramulla Uri highway while he was offering the call of prayers in the local mosque.
He was shifted to a medical facility in Baramulla, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. “Terrorists fired upon Mohd Shafi, a retired police officer at Gantmulla, Sheeri #Baramulla, while praying Azan ( call for prayers) in the mosque and succumbed to injuries,” police said in a post on X. Soon after the attack, a joint team of forces cordoned off the area to trace the attackers.
“The area has been cordoned off. Further details are awaited,” the police said. Sources said Mir had retired in 2012 and was living in the village. The incident took place in an area that has not seen any violence even during the heyday of militancy. “This area has always been peaceful, and the kii¡¡ng has shocked everyone here,” said a local resident of Peth Gantmulla.
The killing of the retired officer has been widely condemned. Chairman Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) and former Chief Minister of J&K, Ghulam Nabi Azad said he was alarmed by the rising terrorist attacks in J&K. ‘Government must take decisive measures to crack down on terrorists and ensure the safety of all citizens!,”
Azad said in a post on X. Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari said the cowardly act goes on to show the true colours of killers as the slain was sh0t upon while giving a call for prayer. “Shame on those people who still feel the killers are carrying out Jihad. Killers are killers, irrespective of which faith they belong to. And we as a society need to rise against such killings,” he said.
BJP leader Altaf Thakur said the dastardly act of killing a 72-year-old retired police officer at Gantamulla, Baramulla, by those who have no religion. “The sons of the devil can’t even tolerate Azaan, as Muhammad Shafi, the retired SSP, was killed while giving Azaan in a masjid. Terror and terrorists have no religion,” Thakur said, while urging police to punish the culprits involved in the act sternly.
