Ultras tried to intercept buses, held BJP worker hostage
Were involved in BJP, RSS leaders’ killing
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Sept 28: In a major success, Army, Police, CRPF and SSB today gunned down three Hizbul Mujahideen militants after day-long encounter at Batote town in Ramban district and thwarted their plot to strike at civilian targets on the National Highway of Batote-Kishtwar. An Army jawan was martyred and two police personnel were injured in the gunbattle while a BJP worker held hostage by the militants in his house was rescued by the security personnel safely.
All three slain militants were involved in the killing of BJP leader Anil Parihar and his brother Ajit Parihar, senior RSS functionary Chanderkant Sharma and his PSO Rajinder Singh and two weapon snatching incidents in Kishtwar.
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Slain militants have been identified as Billal Dar of Shopian in South Kashmir, Osama bin Javed son of Master Javed R/o Sounder, Kishtwar and Zahid Hussain Sagar son of Ghulam Nabi R/o Tandar Dachchan, Kishtwar, affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen outfit. Martyr soldier was identified as Naik Rajinder Singh of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mukesh Singh, who camped at Batote supervising the day-long operation, told the Excelsior this evening that all three top militants of Hizbul Mujahideen were killed after fierce exchange of gunbattle with Police, Army and CRPF.
“The militants in Kishtwar district were under extreme pressure after the arrest of their four colleagues in past one week,’’ Singh said, adding that the militants were killed after a civilian held hostage by them was successfully rescued.
The Jammu Police chief said large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives have been recovered from the possession of slain militants, all of whom belonged to the Hizbul Mujahideen.
Official reports said the militants appeared at village Thore, about nine kilometers from Batote on Batote-Kishtwar National Highway at 7 am and tried to stop civilian vehicles. However, the vehicle operators managed to escape and sounded Road Opening Party (ROP) of Army and police at some distance ahead on the Highway.
The ROP immediately planned the search and cordon operation, which was named ‘Tri Shakti’. Joint teams of police, Army, CRPF and SSB rushed to the village. The militants had taken shelter in an abandoned room of the construction company and fired few shots and lobbed grenade towards the ROP, which retaliated.
Authorities, meanwhile, suspended traffic on Batote-Kishtwar and some sections of Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in view of presence of the militants and restricted all kind of civilian movement.
The militants fled away from the spot and took mountainous route. For nearly four hours, they remained untraced but surfaced at Batote Bazaar later, where alert security forces engaged them. The militants entered in the house of BJP worker Vijay Kumar Verma and held him hostage as other family members managed to come out sensing trouble.
Sources said security forces cordoned off the house and entire Batote Bazaar to ensure that the militants don’t manage to escape.
Security forces made repeated appeals to the militants to come out of the house, release the hostage and surrender. The militants initially told the security personnel that they will lay down the arms. Cops waited for an hour and made the fresh appeal.
The militants opened firing on the security personnel and tried to escape. Acting tactfully, the security personnel first rescued the BJP worker from the house and then engaged militants in the firing. One of the militants was killed inside the house while two others jumped out and tried to flee the cordon, where they were gunned down.
“In the Operation Tri Shakti, Naik Rajinder Singh of the Rashtriya Rifles battalion was critically injured and attained martyrdom. He displayed extreme courage and intercepted a terrorist, who was trying to flee, and gunned him down,’’ sources said.
Naik Rajendra Singh, 27, belonged to Mohangarh, Jaisalmer in Rajasthan and is survived by his wife Jamana Kanwar. He was a brave, highly motivated and a sincere soldier. The nation will always remain indebted to him for the supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty, a Defence spokesman said.
Drones were also used to track down the militants, sources said and added that this was the first encounter in the heart of Batote town during three decades long militancy.
Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Dr Jitendra Singh, who happened to be the Lok Sabha member from the area, remained in constant touch with Advisor to Governor, Incharge Home, K Vijay Kumar during the day as the encounter progressed.
He expressed happiness over safe release of the BJP’s committed worker during the encounter.
With the elimination of three militants, all of whom were operating in Kishtwar, only four dreaded Hizbul Mujahideen militants were now left in the district including Jehangir Saroori, Riaz Ahmad, Mudassir and Haroon. While Haroon is a resident of Doda, three others belonged to Kishtwar.
Sources said all three slain militants were directly involved in the killings of BJP leader Anil Parihar and his brother Ajit Parihar near their house in Kishtwar town on November 1, 2018, senior RSS functionary Chanderkant Sharma and his PSO Rajinder Singh inside the District Hospital Kishtwar on April 9, 2019 and two weapon snatching incidents from the PSO of DC Kishtwar in March and PDP district president this month.
The militants were equipped with large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives, which have been seized.
“Going by the fact that the militants signaled civilian vehicles to stop at village Thore on Batote-Kishtwar National Highway where they appeared early today, they might be trying to target the civilian buses to carry out killings,’’ sources said but added that alertness of troops has foiled the militant plot.
SSP Ramban Anita Sharma and Additional SP Sanjay Parihar led police teams in the operation.
Traffic was restored on Batote-Kishtwar National Highway only after entire area was sanitized by the security personnel.
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