One policeman was killed and three others were critically injured in a militant shootout in Bhaderwah town of the hilly Doda district in Jammu region on Thursday evening.

Police said militants hurled a hand grenade at a police party outside the Bhaderwah police station and followed it up by heavy gunfire.

A senior police official told rediff.com that one policeman died on the spot while the three critically wounded persons had been admitted to the local hospital. Police and paramilitary forces are combing the area at present, the official added.

Interestingly, Bhaderwah, which is Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's home constituency, is going to polls on April 24. Azad is seeking entry into the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly from this constituency.

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