Srinagar: Militants shot dead a special police officer, his wife and daughter in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.
The ultras barged into the house of SPO Fayaz Ahmad at Hariparigam in Awantipora area at around 11 pm on Sunday and opened fire on the family, the police said.
The injured were rushed to a hospital where the SPO succumbed. His wife Raja Begum and daughter Rafia also died later on.
Security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to track down the assailants but no arrests have been made so far, the officials said on Monday.
Militants have intensified attacks on cops and security forces. While an inspector and a constable were killed in Nowgam and Eidgah areas of Srinagar last week, a civilian died in a grenade attack on security forces at Barbarshah in the heart of the city.
Political parties condemn attack
Mainstream political parties in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday condemned the killing of the officer (SPO), his wife and daughter in Pulwama district, calling it "dastardly and cowardly" and a "form of terrorism".
"I unreservedly condemn the dastardly and cowardly militant attack on the J&K police SPO Fayaz Ahmed, his wife and his young daughter at their home last night. I pray they receive their place in Jannat and their loved ones find strength during this terrible time," National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah wrote on Twitter.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said no words were strong enough to condemn the cowardly attack.
"No words are strong enough to condemn the cowardly attack in Awantipora that claimed the lives of a JKP officer Fayaz Ahmad, his wife and daughter. May Allah Ta'aala grant them maghfirat and their loved ones the fortitude to bear this loss (sic)," Mufti tweeted.
Peoples Conference (PC) chairman Sajad Lone said the news of the killing was "extremely distressing" and called the perpetrators "thugs of violence".
"Woke up to extremely distressing news of violence. An entire family fell to bullets. No respite from these thugs of violence. May they rest in peace. May the family muster courage to bear this loss," Lone said in a tweet.
BJP's J&K spokesman Altaf Thakur also condemned the attack as cowardly and barbaric, saying that barging into the house of a cop and killing him and his family members is nothing but a pure form of terrorism.
"The act deserves the strongest condemnation and that those behind the act will meet the same fate. What was the fault of the innocent wife and daughter of policeman? Killing women is (in) no way bravery, but a pure cowardly attack which deserves the highest form of condemnation," Thakur said.
He expressed sympathies with the bereaved family and urged the police to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice as soon as possible.
