Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Feb 14: Two civilians including a woman were killed and over three dozen others were injured during an encounter and clashes that broke out in Kakpora village in Pulwama district of South Kashmir in which one militant of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) was also killed.
Police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Army 50 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) cordoned off Khanday Mohalla in Kakapora area of Pulwama after they received information about presence of 3 militants of LeT in the village.
One militant Adil Ahmad Wagay of Banderpora, Pulwama, was killed in the encounter with security forces at Khanday Mohalla in Kakapora in a brief gun battle while two other militants managed to escape.
Protests erupted during the gun battle in which two persons Danish Farooq Mir son of Farooq Ahmad Mir of Ratnipora, Pulwama, and the woman as Shaista Hameed daughter of Abdul Hameed of Lelhar village were killed.
Danish, 19, was studying Electrical Engineering at Islamic University of Science and Technology in Awantipora, while the 22-year-old Shaista was pursuing MA Urdu.
The youth protested near the encounter site in Lelhar village and security forces fired at the protesters as it turned violent.
Residents said that Shaista was sitting on the veranda of her home when a bullet hit her. She was shifted to District Hospital Pulwama where doctors declared her brought dead.
The Sub District Hospital at Pampore treated around one dozen injured persons who were injured at Kakpora.
Some of the injured have been identified as Suhail Farooq, 18, of Lelhar, Rehan Ahmad Bhat of Pahoo, Imran Rashid of Lelhar and Shahid Ahmad Mir of Ratnipora have pellet injuries, while Bilal Kuchay of Hajibal has foot injury.
A police spokesman said here that Police Components of Pampore, Awantipora, Kakapora, 50RR and 183 CRPF laid cordon in Astan Mohalla Kakapora today.
“As search was going on, militants hiding in a house opened fire indiscriminately on security forces. The police started evacuating civilians trapped inside the cordon. A large number of people were evacuated but a lady namely Shaista while taking cover was hit by a bullet. She was evacuated to hospital where doctors declared her dead”, police spokesman said.
The spokesman said: “Some more miscreants/stone pelters received bullet injuries in the cross fire. A large number of people despite imposition of Section 144 CRPC came near encounter site where militants were firing indiscriminately on security forces from inside. They were pelting stones on Security forces. One terrorist was killed in the encounter who was identified as Adil Ahmad Shergojri alias Abu Bakar son of Mohammad Ashraf Shergojri of Banderpora affiliated with LeT.
Due to heavy stone pelting and ensuing law and order situation the security forces had to resort to tear smoke shelling. As a result of which some protesters received injuries. Due to heavy stone pelting two terrorists managed to escape. Six Army men received injuries two in head during the stone pelting. Apart from this 15 policemen also got injured in stone pelting. Case has been registered and investigation taken up.”
The separatist have called for strike in Kashmir tomorrow against the killing of two civilians at Pulwama.
Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, condemned the killing in Pulwama and called for a complete shutdown across the Valley including parts of Jammu region. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also condemned the killing and called for strike tomorrow.
Chairman of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Mohammad Yasin Malik also called for a complete shutdown on Monday, against the killings.
Chairman of Democratic Freedom Movement (DFM), Shabir Ahmad Shah has condemned the killing and called for Valley-wide shutdown to protest against the killing of two civilians.
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