Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Jan 1 : An Assistant Commandant of para-military Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from Uri area of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district was killed during an anti-Naxal operation at Jharkhand last night.
CRPF in a statement said: “On 31-12-2018, on receipt of Intelligence input from SP Khunti regarding the movement of extremists, a two-day operation was launched in the forest area of Senjani, PS Arki, District Khunti(Jharkhand). Two platoons of C/157 under command of Ghulam Jeelani Khan took up positions in the target area.”
At around 1800 hours, troops noticed a torchlight near the area where they had taken position. “Anticipating contact with extremist, Ghulam Jeelani Khan along with a small team moved swiftly to place an ambush along the path where suspected extremists were supposed to move”, the CRPF said.
“Leading from front in the darkness, he was about to reach a dominating place to lay an ambush, when he came in contact with a live electric wire of 11000”, the statement said.
Having suffered serious injuries due to the electric shock, he was immediately evacuated to PHC Arki, where he was given first aid. “He was later shifted to District Hospital Khunti for better treatment but he succumbed to his injuries enroute,” CRPF said.
Jeelani Khan, a resident of Nanzgam Boniyar Uri was a gallant officer who had joined his first operational Unit in October 2015. He was actively involved in conducting operations in his area of responsibility, leading his men from the front.
“His excellent operational role ensured that his area was incident-free. He also volunteered to serve in Kashmir, where he was deployed along with his troops for recently concluded ULB/Panchayat elections,” the CRPF said.
In August last year, he was instrumental in unearthing a huge Maoist dump of weapons and explosives in Village Chandur, in district Khunti.