Srinagar: DSP Mohammad Ayub Pandit stripped, stoned to death outside mosque

SRINAGAR: A police officer on security duty outside a mosque was stripped and stoned to death after he got into an argument with miscreants and then tried to save himself by using his pistol. Jammu & Kashmir’s police chief, S.P. Vaid, said two persons have been arrested for the lynching of Mohammad Ayub Pandit, a deputy superintendent of police who was posted at the access control of the Jamia Masjid in downtown Srinagar to prevent miscreants from vitiating the atmosphere and allow people to offer prayers in peace. ”Two persons have been arrested so far and a third has been identified. All of them (involved in lynching of the officer) will face the law,” Vaid told reporters. ”The official was killed by the mob while he was performing his duties. It's a very sad and unfortunate incident,” the director general of police said. Police sources said Pandit was seen moving around near Jamia Masjid in the Nowhatta area shortly after midnight. Muslims across Kashmir are observing Shab-e-Qadr or the night of power, which involves prayers and supplications at mosques and shrines in the Valley through the night. Pandit was reportedly taking photographs of people coming out of the mosque when some of them objected. “Some miscreants caught hold of Pandit and started beating him up,” the police chief said. Pandit then took out his service pistol and opened fire to save himself. The mob overpowered him, stripped him and stoned him to death. Then it went on the rampage, targeting empty security pickets. The situation in old city has turned tense following the incident. Authorities have already announced restrictions on movement of people in seven police station areas of the city as a precautionary measure. Defending the firing by the officer in which three persons were injured, Vaid said: “The DSP was carrying a pistol and he had the right to self-defence.” (With inputs from agencies)