Militants open fire on policemen in poll-bound Anantnag, flee

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Srinagar: Militants on Saturday opened fire on a police team near an election meeting venue of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in poll-bound Anantnag district in south Kashmir and fled from the scene, police said.

No one was hurt in the firing, even as the meeting, chaired by Jammu and Kashmir minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali, remained unaffected and later concluded peacefully, a police official said.

The militants opened fire on a police party patrolling the area around Magray Mohalla in Achabal,?65 km from Srinagar, the official said.

He said the policemen fired in retaliation and immediately cordoned off the area.

There was no report of any casualty on either side, the official said.

The meeting was being held in connection with the Lok Sabha bypoll to Anantnag parliamentary constituency scheduled for April 12.

The official said the militants apparently fired a few shots to scare the voters but fled the scene due to heavy presence of police and paramilitary personnel.

A search operation was in progress to track down the militants, the official said.