Jawan’s body found, Guard shot at
Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Mar 10: Three militants including The Resistance Front (TRF) commander were killed in two separate encounters in Southern district of Pulwama and Hazratbal area of Srinagar today. Militants shot at a Jammu and Kashmir Bank guard while the body of a missing soldier was found in Budgam today.
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A TRF commander Manzoor alias Haider alias Hamzah, who was a Pakistani national was killed in a brief shootout outside the revered Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar today.
Police said that three militants came to snatch a weapon from a policeman guarding the revered shrine but the attempt was foiled in which a foreign militant was killed while two others managed to flee from the spot.
Speaking to reporters outside the Hazratbal shrine, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said that three militants including a foreigner came to snatch weapon from a policeman guarding the revered shrine of Hazratbal and in a brief shoot-out, one foreign militant was been killed while two managed to flee from the spot.
“Three militants including a foreigner who was active for the past six months in Srinagar tried to snatch weapon from a guard at Hazratbal shrine. The alert policeman fired at the militant and foiled the bid. In retaliation, one foreign militant whose video was also viral on social media recently, was killed while two others managed to flee who are being tracked down,” he said.
The IGP said militants are using religious places to take shelter but police are very active and will foil all such bids. The IGP said that two local militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba first entered the masjid in Naina, Pulwama and after initial exchange of fire they took shelter in a nearby structure. “Both were killed,” he said.
In another gun battle at village Naina, Batpora area of Pulwama, two militants were killed today. A police spokesman said that based on a specific input regarding the presence of militants in village Naina, Batpora area of Pulwama, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by police, Army (55RR) and 182Bn CRPF in the area.
“During the search operation as the presence of militants holed-up in a separate structure nearby a local masjid got ascertained, they were given ample opportunities to surrender and repeated appeals were made to them. Instead, they fired indiscriminately upon the joint search party leading to an encounter,” the official said.
The spokesman said that keeping in view the sanctity of the Masjid, the joint team exercised maximum restraint to ensure no damage to it and two Army personnel sustained splinter injuries during the encounter.
“Both the injured were evacuated to hospital where their condition is stated to be stable,” he said. “In the ensuing encounter, two militants affiliated with LeT were killed and their bodies were recovered from the site of encounter,” he added.
They have been identified as Shahid Ahmed Khan son of Mohi-ud-din Khan resident of Batpora, Pulwama and Fayaz Sheikh son of Ghulam Rasool Sheikh, resident of Shahpora, Ganderbal.
“As per police records both the killed militants were categorized militants and were wanted by law in many criminal cases,” the spokesman said.
In the meantime, body of a missing soldier from Central Kashmir’s Budgam district was found at Labren village of the district today.
Sameer Ahmed Malla, son of Muhammad Yaqoob Malla, a resident of Lokripora, a Territorial Army soldier was posted in Jammu and had come to his home on leave. His wife Rifat had delivered second baby last week only. Sameer had left his house on March 7 and didn’t return.
His wife and parents had appealed all to allow Sameer return home for the sake of his two sons-a three-year-old and the newborn. However, on Thursday, a pall of gloom descended on his family when Sameer’s body was spotted at Labren-Dalwesh village in Khag area of the district.
Hundreds of people including women flooded the house of Sameer amid wails and cries.
IGP, Vijay Kumar said that the body of soldier Sameer was found. “There was no mark of firearm injury on his body. Investigation is going on. We are looking to both aspects, militancy-angle and murder,” he said.
Malla was in news in 2018 when an Army officer, Major Leetul Gogoi, was detained along with a girl from a Srinagar hotel. Major Gogoi and the girl were dropped at the hotel by Malla in his personal car and had an altercation with the hotel staff when the hotel manager denied them booking after finding that the girl was a local resident. Major Gogi, who had earlier tied a villager to the bonnet of his jeep and paraded him through villages on the election day, was indicted by the Army for allegedly “fraternising with a local woman”.
A Jammu and Kashmir Bank guard was injured when militants fired upon him in Muran Chowk of Pulwama today. The militants also fled away with his service rifle.
The militant attacked the bank guard and he suffered injuries in right leg. The bank guard, Abdul Hameed Wani of Tahab, was hospitalized while entire area was immediately cordoned off by police and Army.
“(Militants) fired upon and injured a bank guard identified as Abdul Hameed Wani of Tahab Pulwama at Murran Chowk area of Pulwama and snatched his 12 bore rifle,” a police spokesperson said. “The condition of the injured is stated to be stable,” he said, adding, “the area has been cordoned off and search in the area is in progress.” He said that a case has been registered and “investigation is in progress.”
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