SRINAGAR: Suspected militants wearing army uniforms stormed a police station in India-held Kashmir, killing a policeman and sparking a four-hour gunfight on Friday that left two paramilitary soldiers, two militants and a civilian dead, police said.

At least seven paramilitary officers, two policemen and a second civilian were also wounded in the fighting on the outskirts of Kathua town in the region of Jammu.

Indian forces rescued at least two dozen paramilitary and police officers who had been trapped inside the station, police said.

Indian army and paramilitary soldiers cordoned off the area near the de facto border in the disputed Himalayan region, and traffic on the nearby main highway connecting Jammu region with India was suspended.

Inspector-General Danish Rana said at least two militants were involved in the attack. He said they hijacked a car and drove it to the police station, where they forced several civilians to enter in order to gain access to the building.

They then killed a police sentry and one of the civilians, and pushed their way into the building.

The militants who carried out the attack were dressed in army combat uniforms, but it was unclear from which country’s army, Police Director-General K. Rajendra said.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack immediately. Several anti-India groups are fighting for Kashmir’s independence or merger with Pakistan.

The fighting has left tens of thousands dead, mostly civilians. Armed encounters between militants and government forces occur regularly, though violence in the region has substantially declined during the last decade.

Indian officials claimed the attack justified the continuation of a law allowing Indian military and paramilitary soldiers based in India-held Kashmir to shoot-to-kill suspects without prosecution and to arrest suspected militants without a warrant.

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act also gives Kashmir-based police wide-ranging powers of search and seizure.

Jitendra Singh, a junior minister in Indian prime minister’s office, said the attack should “be an eye opener and loud and clear message” to those who want to revoke the law.

Experts and human rights workers argue that the law allows abuses by law enforcement officers and helps to radicalise youths against the Indian government.

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2015

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