Srinagar, October:

On the eve of Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to J&K, a policeman was killed and a CRPF constable injured when militants attacked a joint checkpost laid by security forces in Pulwama district.The attack came hours after a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant was killed in an encounter in Shopian after a three-hour operation.

The police said the militants targeted the check post at 3 pm. “Terrorists fired upon a joint naka

party of the CRPF and police at Pinglena, Pulwama. In the terror attack, one policeman got martyred and one CRPF man got injured,” the Kashmir Zone Police said in a tweet. The slain policemen has been identified as constable Javid Ahmad Dar. The injured paramilitary soldier was immediately evacuated to a hospital, the police said, adding that reinforcement was sent and the area cordoned off. Shah will be arriving in J&K on a three-day visit on Monday. Besides reviewing the security situation, he will address two rallies in Rajouri and Baramulla districts. In Shopian, security forces had launched an operation after inputs about the presence of a local militant linked to the LeT at Baskuchan village.

As security forces personnel approached the suspected spot, the militant fired upon the search party, leading to an encounter. The militant, identified as Naseer Ahmad Bhat of Baskuchan in Shopian, was killed and his body retrieved from the encounter site.