Cop lynched at held Srinagar mosque

HELD   SRINAGAR: The police in Indian-held Kashmir on Friday said one of their officers had been beaten to death by a crowd outside the main mosque here.

Witnesses said worshippers had spotted the policeman, Muhammad Ayub Pandit at the mosque in plainclothes, taking photographs of people leaving shortly after midnight. When they confronted him, a brawl broke out and Ayub fired his gun, wounding three people before the crowd began attacking him, the witnesses said.

Two people suspected of involvement in the attack have been arrested, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police SP Vaid told reporters. The attack occurred while a separatist leader was speaking inside the mosque amid tight security on Laylatul Qadr, one of the holiest nights of the holy month of Ramadan.

The beating to death of an officer is unusual. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said the policeman was at the mosque doing his duty. "This was a shameless act," Mufti said.