Terrorists Fire 30 Rounds in 15 Seconds at Kulgam CRPF Post, Injuring 3 Troopers

KULGAM — Motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire on a Central Reserve Police Force checkpost in south Kashmir on Wednesday afternoon, firing nearly 30 rounds in 15 seconds and wounding three troopers before fleeing into nearby alleyways.

Security camera footage recovered from the scene at Akhran, near Mir Bazar, captured the sudden burst of automatic gunfire beginning at approximately 2:15 pm. Splinters and dislodged rock fragments rained across the pavement as another dozen rounds tore through the perimeter over the following minute. The three wounded personnel—identified by authorities as Rakesh Dass, Santosh Chandru, and Somveer Singh—were evacuated to a district facility in Anantnag and are out of danger.

The Ambush at Akhran Checkpost

CCTV footage established a granular timeline of the assault. At first, a lone CRPF trooper sat stationed outside a shuttered row of retail shops. When gunfire erupted directly to his right, a second armed trooper sprinted into the frame.

Both men chambered their machine guns and pushed directly toward the incoming fire. Audio feeds recorded the troopers shouting challenges at the fleeing gunmen through the rattle of incoming rounds.

Casualty Breakdown and Medical Evacuation

Siren-blaring ambulances transferred the injured unit members to emergency triage in Anantnag within minutes of the shooting. Doctors confirmed that Dass suffered a gunshot wound to his left leg, Singh sustained trauma to his left arm, and Chandru underwent emergency intervention for bullet injuries across his abdomen and spine.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha was present in Kulgam district for scheduled administrative engagements during the assault, though his convoy was stationed well away from the Mir Bazar perimeter.

Cordon Operations and Security Lockdown

Fresh reinforcements sealed off all vehicular exits across the Akhran corridor immediately following the attack. Heavy armoured patrol vehicles rolled into the sector, while joint units threw up perimeter spikes and concrete barricades across connecting arterial roads.

Patrolling units used vehicle-mounted loudspeakers to instruct shopkeepers and village residents to remain indoors while search teams combed orchards and alleyways for the motorcycle-borne shooters.

The strike marks another tactical assault on paramilitary detachments operating in sensitive zones. Just last month, four CRPF personnel sustained severe blast trauma during counter-explosive clearing operations at the Alarmedgu camp in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district when residual munitions detonated during disposal.

Security sweeps across the Kulgam-Anantnag border belt continue as forensic teams analyze the recovered surveillance footage to identify the two gunmen and their vehicle registration marks.