Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 20: Army and police today achieved a major success when they killed a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Shakir Ahmad alias Chota Haafiz at village Qadarna, a remote area of Navapachi in Kishtwar district. He was wanted to National Investigating Agency (NIA) in connection with September 7, 2011 blast outside Delhi High Court in which 14 persons were killed and 80 others injured and carried a reward of Rs 20 lakh on his head—Rs 10 lakh each from NIA and the State Government.
With this killing, all three top Hizbul militants wanted by the NIA in Kishtwar, have been killed. All of them carried Rs 20 lakh reward each on their head.
Meanwhile, police today detained two former Kashmiri militants, their two wives and 13 children from Channi Himmat after they reached here from Kathmandu, Nepal via Patna after taking flight from Karachi. They had crossed over to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) from Keran sector in Kupwara district about two decades ago. The duo hailed from Kupwara.
DIG Doda-Ramban range Gareeb Dass told the Excelsior that Shakir Ahmad alias Chota Haafiz, a divisional commander of Hizbul Mujahideen was trapped at Navapachi about two days back and since then a massive hunt had been launched by Army and police to nab him.
He was finally trapped at Qadarna in mountainous area of Navapachi in Kishtwar district at 5 pm today by the troops of 11 Rashtriya Rifles, police and Special Operations Group (SOG) and was asked to surrender. However, Haafiz opened firing on the security personnel leading to an encounter. After half an hour long gun-fight, the militant was gunned down.
One AK rifle along with ammunition were recovered from the slain militant.
Few days back, Excelsior had reported that Haafiz could be visiting his house at Palmar in Kishtwar as his wife had delivered a baby. However, there had also been reports that he had shifted to South Kashmir to escape Army and police net laid for him. As village Qadarna falls on Anantnag border, sources didn’t rule out that the militant might have changed his hideout recently.
Sources said security forces and police wanted Chota Haafiz to be captured alive as he could spill beans about the blast outside Delhi High Court and also take a lid off the killing of another blast accused Junaid Akram Malik.
“It was due to this (capturing Haafiz alive) that he managed to escape during two or three encounters with the security personnel. Today also, Army and police tried to get him alive but he resorted to heavy firing leaving no option for the troops but to eliminate him’’, sources said.
The NIA had last year declared cash reward of Rs 10 lakh each on Chota Haafiz, Aamir Kamaal alias Akram and Junaid Akram Malik, all Hizbul Mujahideen militants and residents of Kishtwar for their involvement in Delhi High Court blast, which the NIA was investigating. Simultaneously, the State Government had also announced an equal amount of award on the trio.
Aamir Kamaal alias Akram along with his associate Mohammad Shaffi Hajam were killed in an encounter with Army and police in Kishtwar in September this year while Junaid Akram Malik was believed to have been killed by Chota Haafiz as he reportedly wanted to surrender. Junaid’s body has not been recovered so far but at the same time his movement has also not been reported anywhere in Kishtwar district. Sources said one of the arrested militant had reportedly confirmed the killing of Junaid.
Junaid’s brother, Wasim Akram Malik was arrested by the NIA from Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi soon after he landed there from Dhaka, Bangladesh, where he had been studying medicines. He was being tried in the Court at New Delhi. Two other militants from Kishtwar—Aamir Abbas Dev and Abid Hussain had also been arrested by local police after the blast and handed over to the NIA.
Two Pakistani militants, who were also instrumental in executing the blast by smuggling explosive material in a brief case fitted IED from Kishtwar to New Delhi and then detonating it, remained untraced.
However, all three local militants of Kishtwar wanted in connection with the blast were not dead. Jammu Police tonight sounded the NIA about the killing of Chota Haafiz and would officially write to them along with pictorial evidence in the next few days, sources said.
Meanwhile, police have detained two militants along with their two wives and 13 children (totaling 17 persons) from a house at Channi Himmat soon after they reached there from Pakistan.
They have been identified as Ali Mohammad and his son-in-law Mohammad Akbar, both residents of Kupwara, their wives Naseema Bibi and Taj Bibi and 13 children.
Ali Mohammad and Akbar were former militants, who had crossed over to PoK from Keran in Kupwara district about two decades back. Ali Mohammad had married one of his daughter to Akbar in PoK. Ali had also taken his wife to PoK.
Both Ali and Akbar had total of 13 children.
Sources said the reached Kathmandu from Islamabad in Pakistan flight and then entered Patna in Bihar. From Patna, they boarded a train to Jammu. They had taken shelter in a house at Channi Himmat when local police detained all of them. They would be handed over to Kashmir Police after questioning.
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