The bodies of three policemen abducted by militants were recovered in Indian-administered Kashmir on Friday, police said, as tensions mount ahead of local civic polls. Police officers, many of them local Muslims, have been increasingly targeted in recent months in the territory rocked for decades by violence.The increased focus on policemen seems to be in response to what appear to be new police tactics of detaining the family members of prominent militants.
Kashmir has been divided since the end of British colonial rule in 1947 but both India and Pakistan claim the former Himalayan kingdom in full. India has about 500,000 soldiers in the zone it controls, where separatist groups demand independence or a merger with Pakistan.
The latest incident saw groups of armed militants raiding the homes of at least 11 policemen in the twin villages of Kapran and Batgund in southern Kashmir valley.
They abducted three Special Police Officers (SPOs), as well as the brother of a police constable, police and witnesses said.
“Three bullet-riddled bodies of the SPOs were found lying in the fields,” a police officer told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The brother of the constable was released unharmed.
- AFP
A Sri Lankan man was apprehended at Suvarnabhumi airport for attempting to smuggle wildlife out of the country after three ball pythons were found hidden in his underwear, the Bangkok post reported.
The UK government has unveiled a package of reforms to simplify imports from developing countries which allows for more garments manufactured in Sri Lanka to enter the UK tariff-free.
Read these and more on tomorrow’s edition of the Sunday Times
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