CRPF DIG among 2 killed in landslide on Srinagar highway

The landslide struck the vehicle near Khooni Nallah when DIG Singh was moving along with his escort towards the Valley

A deputy inspector general (operations) of the CRPF, Shailendra Kumar Singh, and his driver were killed while the bodyguard was critically injured after the Mahindra Scorpio vehicle they were travelling in was hit by a boulder in Ramban district on Jammu-Srinagar national highway late Sunday evening.

A snow cutter clears the Jammu-Srinagar national highway following fresh snowfall, at Patnitop, about 115 km from Jammu, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019. (PTI/ Representative Image)

The landslide struck the vehicle near Khooni Nallah when DIG Singh was moving along with his escort towards the Valley, officials said.

Ramban deputy magistrate Nazim Zai Khan said, “Around 7.45pm, a CRPF vehicle carrying Kumar was hit by a big boulder near Khooni Nullah.” Khan said the DIG and his driver died on the spot while his bodyguard Mohammad Sharief Khan of Uri has been shifted to Army’s Command Hospital in Udhampur and chances of his survival looked “bleak”.

It may be stated that Jammu-Srinagar national highway remained blocked since Thursday following heavy snowfall and rain On Saturday, rain had triggered big landslides in Digdol, Nashri, Panthial and other areas on the highway in Ramban district. The road was cleared of the debris late in the afternoon and some vehicles, including that of the DIG, were allowed to pass on priority, the officials said.