Kashmir violence: Arms missing from police station yet to be traced

Police officials added that some sensitive documents were also missing

Security forces have not been able to trace the large cache of arms and ammunition, including 35 assorted rifles, that went missing from a police station in south Kashmir following a mob attack on Saturday, a police official said today.

Among the arms and ammunition that are still untraced are 21 INSAS rifles, 12 SLR rifles, two AK 47 rifles, one Light Machine Gun and three Carbine Machine Guns, the official said.

"The missing items include 108 INSAS magazines, six Carbine Machine Gun magazines, 18 SLR magazine, one LMG magazine and five AK 47 magazines.The number of ammunition rounds could not be ascertained yet as most of the magazines were fully loaded," he said.

A mob attacked a police station at Damhal Hanjipora in south Kashmir on Saturday during violent protests against the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces a day earlier.

The official said it was not clear whether the mob has taken away the arms and ammunition or some police personnel posted at the police station managed to save these.

"We have our fingers crossed that these weapons have not fallen into wrong hands," he said.

The official said some sensitive documents were also missing from the police station.

"The Police Wireless Communication Code (PWCC) document, the coded language used by the department for relay of information, is also missing. Case diaries and some other records are also not traced yet," he added.