NEW DELHI/SOPORE: If it wasn’t for the presence of mind of a special police officer (SPO) hired during an extraordinary recruitment drive last year in the Valley, at least 10 security personnel would have either got killed or been badly wounded in a grenade attack in Sopore on Sunday morning.Ahmed Lone, 21 (name changed due to security reasons), was part of a joint CRPF-J&K police squad at Batpora chowk, Sopore, on Sunday. Lone was sitting in a mobile bulletproof bunker van of opposite CRPF battalion premises near the State Bank of India branch, as he and his mates were about to leave for regular operation.Around 9.37 am, a militant, with his face covered, approached the bunker and lobbed a grenade. It fell on Lone’s lap. Without panicking, he swiftly picked up the grenade and threw it on the road, while another SPO, Saleem Bashir (name changed), too, showed impeccable reflexes and quickly shut the door of the bunker van. IG (Operations), CRPF, Zulfikar Hasan told TOI, “The grenade exploded on the road immediately after the SPO threw it. One constable and another SPO had minor injuries. But if he (Lone) had not displayed such deftness and panicked, the grenade might have fallen on the floor of the bunker causing devastating damage.”Hasan said Lone’s daring, tactical appreciation of situation, and quick reaction saved lives of 10 troopers.The CRPF handed SPO Lone a cash reward of Rs 25,000 and Rs 10,000 to SPO Saleem. His name was also recommended to J&K Police for a permanent job as constable, which was immediately accepted by DGP S P Vaid.Vaid tweeted, “I have issued instructions for this SPO’s absorption in the J&K police who saved many precious lives by exhibiting alertness.”Lone has been part of several law and order duties since last June and earns Rs 6,000 per month that the 25,000-odd SPOs in J&K are paid. His colleagues said he’s extremely dedicated and wants to continue though being a cop exposes his family members to terror threats.Before joining the police, Lone was employed at a construction site for six years. At 15, he was forced to give up studies to help his father, a construction worker. His sixmember family depends on him for sustenance.Officials said SPOs, who work on a temporary basis with no job security, have been very effective in dealing with militancy in the Valley because of local knowledge and intelligence network, but terrorists constantly target them.