Srinagar attack shocker: 'Most CRPF men had no weapons in the fidayeen assault' - Indian Express

Only one out of the five CRPF personnel killed and five out of the 15 personnel who were first to be injured in the Srinagar militant attack outside their camp on Wednesday were carrying weapons, sources said, although there was specific intelligence input about a possible attack on police camps by men in disguise. The CRPF had come under fire after four young men were killed in retaliatory fire by the force last month during protests against the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, forcing the state administration to ask the paramilitary force not carry any weapons while patrolling the streets of Srinagar. CRPF said only 8,300 of the 25,000 personnel deployed in Srinagar, roughly one-third of the strength, were mandated to carry weapons. "The state police and administration was of the view that armed men moving around the streets instilled fear in the minds of citizens and they wanted to project the situation as normal as possible. While CRPF agreed to not carry arms, the BSF rejected their proposal. It now turns out that only one of the men among those killed was carrying a weapon virtually making them sitting ducks," said an official. After the attack, the Union Home Ministry said there was an intelligence alert about the entry of four militants in the area. Sources in the CRPF, however, said there was no specific input for Srinagar. Officials explained it was difficult to preempt any fidayeen attack and such bombers did not enter the targeted city overnight. ... contd. Tags: Srinagar attack, CRPF camp attack, Pranay Sahay, Afzal Guru, kashmir news Previous Story To stay in the House, BJP to adopt 'controlled aggression' Next Story Catholic church has new pope; white smoke rises Reader's Comments | Post a comment via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEQkqFE5ZEO1hn-EY9rcq5wgL_NVA&url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/shocker-in-srinagar-attack-most-crpf-men-had-no-weapons-in-the-fidayeen-assault/1087634/

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