3 J&K policemen quit hours after Hizbul allegedly issues video threat, kills abducted cops

SRINAGAR: Barely hours after bullet-ridden bodies of three cops was recovered from Shopian on Friday morning, two Special Police Officers (SPOs) and a constable submitted their resignations and failed to report for duty.

SPOs Tajalla Hussain, Shabir Ahmad Thoker and Constable Mohd Irshad Baba resigned from Jammu and Kashmir Police department.

A resident of Samnoo village in Kulgam, Thoker tendered his resignation on Thursday.

“I have been working as the SPO for the last eight years. I just want to say that from September 20 onwards, I've no connection with the police department and will work on my own from now,” Thoker told Zee News in a video message.

In a similar message, Hussain said, “I was working as the SPO for the last six years. I resigned from last month on August 17. After that I came back home. I have no connection with the police department and will now focus on my fruits business.”

Constable Irshad from Shopian also sent a similar video message, announcing his severed ties with the police department.

On Friday morning, dead bodies of three policemen – two SPOs and a constable, who went missing on Thursday, was recovered. They have been identified as Firdous Ahmad Kuchey, Kuldeep Singh and Fayaz Ahmad Bhat.

They were allegedly abducted by terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen. The outfit had earlier sent an audio threat saying SPO’s should resign from their jobs.

Nisar Ahmad, brother of a policeman, was also abducted by terrorists on Thursday. He was later released.

Last month, nine people, whose family members are working in the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Army, were kidnapped by terrorists from Shopian, Kulgam, Anantnag and Awantipora in the state.

Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo had purportedly claimed responsibility for the abductions in a 12-minute video, issuing a three-day deadline for the release of all relatives of terrorists who were in police custody.