New Delhi: Three personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were injured Wednesday as unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire with an AK-47, at a bridge guard party in Nawapora, near Mir Bazar, in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
A CRPF spokesperson, while confirming the “firing on CRPF Naka at Kulgam”, said operations are underway to nab the perpetrators.
According to a senior police officer, the incident took place around 2:15 pm when the assailants, one of whom is suspected to be a foreign terrorist associated with the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), opened fire at the CRPF personnel before fleeing the spot.
Constable Rakesh Dass sustained injuries on his leg, while Constable Santosh Chadru sustained injuries on his abdomen and spine. Head constable Somveer Singh sustained an injury on his left arm, the senior police officer confirmed.
“The injured personnel, including two constables and a head constable, have been shifted to a hospital in Anantnag district, where they are under treatment,” the officer said. Two of the three personnel are critical.
“The assailants were riding a motorcycle when they opened fire at the CRPF personnel. These personnel were part of a bridge guard deployment in the area. Teams have been dispatched to conduct search operations,” the officer said.
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Lateef Bhatt connection?
According to a source in the security establishment, the attackers are suspected to be associates of Lateef Bhat, an alleged operative of The Resistance Front (TRF) involved in similar attacks in the past. “Bhatt has been roaming around with two foreign terrorists in the area. They appear to be behind this attack just like they executed two other attacks in the past,” a source told ThePrint.
On 22 July, a 35-year-old Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) personnel deployed as part of the security contingent for the Amarnath Yatra was shot dead. CCTV footage showed the suspected attacker carrying an AK-47. The Resistance Front (TRF), suspected to be a front of LeT, later claimed responsibility for the attack. A little over a week later, on 31 July, two migrant workers from Chhattisgarh were killed in another attack in Kulgam.
According to sources, both attacks were carried out by Lateef Bhat.
A local carpenter, Bhat went missing from his home in Kulgam in November 2025 and subsequently joined the terror outfit, it is learnt. He was trained in the higher reaches of Kulgam and Shopian and then inducted into the TRF, said sources, adding that he was recruited by Pakistan-based designated terrorist Sajjad Gul.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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