4 cops beaten up by army men in Kupwara, FIR lodged; defence official says ‘differences resolved’

Srinagar, May 29 (PTI) Four policemen were injured after they were allegedly beaten up by army personnel in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday.

A defence spokesperson, however, said “minor differences” between the cops and the army personnel have been resolved amicably.

Police has lodged an FIR in the matter.

Special police officers Rayees Khan, Imtiyaz Malik and constables Saleem Mushtaq, Zahoor Ahmad — posted at Kupwara police station — were admitted to SKIMS Hospital at Soura late Tuesday night, officials said, adding their condition is stated to be stable.

The cops were injured after an army team led by an officer allegedly barged into the police station and beat them up.

While police and army officers have maintained a silence on the cause of the altercation, sources said a police party had allegedly raided the residence of a local territorial army man at Batpora in Kupwara while investigating a case.

The move allegedly incensed the local army unit, which then barged into the police station, sources said.

A Srinagar-based defence spokesperson said the reports of altercation between police and army personnel “and beating up therein of police personnel are misfounded and incorrect”.

“Minor differences between the police personnel and a territorial army unit on an operational matter have been amicably resolved,” the spokesperson said.

An FIR has been registered on the matter by the police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including sections 307 (attempt to murder), 186 (obstructing public servants), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant while they are performing their duty) and 365 (abduction).