*Army, police maintain cordon, 16 QRTs, commandos used
*Brigade Hqrs, other vital police installations may have been target
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Sept 11: Army, CRPF and police today foiled major fidayeen attack in the heart of Poonch town killing three militants after day-long operation in which drone was used for the first time in the border district to locate the militants, who had taken shelter inside under-construction Mini Secretariat and an adjacent private house ‘Mir Manzil’ at Alla Pir Mohalla. A police personnel was killed and five others including four Army and police jawans and a civilian were injured in the operation, which hasn’t been closed as cordon was still on in anticipation of one or two more militants inside.
The major fidayeen attack by the militants in the border town of Poonch at the buildings, which were only some distance away from the Brigade Headquarters and other vital installations like SSP and DC offices, police station etc, came after a long time though this was second terror attack in the town during past one month, the previous one being on Budda Amarnath Ji pilgrims in which nearly 20 persons were injured.
Sixteen Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) of the Army from different parts of Poonch district along with police personnel executed the operation while the assault was carried out by the Army Commandos, who were flown from Northern Command Headquarters in Udhampur after location of the militants was spotted using drone for the first time in terror attack in Jammu region. The search and cordon operation continued as Army and police were suspecting presence of one or two more militants inside the buildings but things would be clear only when the sanitization operation is launched tomorrow.
IGP Jammu region Danesh Rana told the Excelsior that three militants have been killed in the day long operation but cordon hasn’t been lifted so far and search and sanitization operations were still being carried out by Army and police personnel.
Rana said once bodies of militants were thoroughly examined, police would come to know whether they were part of freshly infiltrated group or had already sneaked-in.
“All these issues will be part of the investigations,’’ he said, adding the drones were used to monitor movement of the militants inside the under-construction Mini-Secretariat building and a private house, where the militants had been hiding. Movement of the militants is monitored on the ground with the help of camera fitted on the drones,’’ the Jammu police chief said.
Sources told the Excelsior that police got the first information of the militants having entered ‘Mir Manzil’, a house owned by Haji Nazir Hussain, cousin of Legislative Council Deputy Chairman Jehangir Mir, in the heart of Poonch town. Haji Nazir and his wife Mumtaz Begum took shelter inside bathroom of the house by locking themselves after militants entered inside with the onset of dawn around 6.30 am.
However, the militants fired upon the Haji’s servant, Talib Hussain, who tried to escape, and was injured.
Police personnel, who were conducting recce of the area in civvies after getting information of the presence of militants in the area, were fired upon by the militants at 7.20 am from inside the building in which Rajinder Prasad, head constable was killed while Sub Inspector Manzoor Hussain was injured.
Immediately thereafter, Army and police teams cordoned off entire Poonch town, restricted movement of the civilians and suspended traffic to avoid civilian casualties. The under-construction Mini-Secretariat building and ‘Mir Manzil’ were surrounded by the Army and police personnel within no time.
However, since Haji Nazir Hussain and his wife Mumtaz Begum were inside the house, the security personnel had to exercise maximum restraint to ensure that the civilians were not killed.
Deputy Chairman Legislative Council, Jehangir Mir told the Excelsior that his cousin was in regular touch with Army and police through mobile telephone. He strongly lauded role of the troops for exercising restraint and killing the militants without any civilian casualty.
Brigadier K S Pandarkar of 93 Brigade, DIG Rajouri-Poonch range Johnny Williams and SSP Poonch Jatinder Singh Johar supervised the operation.
Sources said 16 QRTs of the Army were pressed into service to eliminate the militants. Police also used its entire strength at the district headquarters. Further, Army Commandos were airlifted from Northern Command Headquarters in Udhampur.
While the militant hiding in ‘Mir Manzil’ was killed in the afternoon, two militants inside the under-construction Mini-Secretariat building were killed at 6.15 pm after their location was fixed with the help of drone, which was used in anti-terror attack, reportedly for the first time in Poonch though it was being used in the Kashmir valley now not only against the militants but also to spot the protesters.
In the process, three more security personnel including two Army jawans Naik Bagirath and Sepoy Jagjit Singh and police constable, Shehnaz Ahmad were injured. The injured Army jawans have been admitted in the Military Hospital Poonch while two injured police men and a civilian were undergoing treatment in the District Hospital, Poonch. Condition of all of them was stable.
Haji Nazir Hussain and his wife Mumtaz Begum were brought safely out of their house late this evening, as they survived nearly 10-hour ordeal by locking themselves inside bathroom of their house.
Sources said body of the militant, who was killed in ‘Mir Manzil’ has been recovered while two bodies of militants were lying inside under-construction Mini-Secretariat building, which have been spotted through drone as well. However, these bodies haven’t been recovered so far as security forces were suspecting movement of one or two more militants inside (the building).
The cordon was being maintained around under-construction Mini-Secretariat building and final assault will be launched tomorrow morning to see, if more militants were present inside and recover the bodies. The cordon will be lifted only when Army and police were sure that all militants have been killed.
Sources said Army have been tracing movement of four to five militants around Poonch, who most likely had come from South Kashmir but twice slipped away very narrowly from their cordon. However, they didn’t rule out the possibility that militants were part of freshly infiltrated group from the Line of Control (LoC). “If that was the case, Army would identify the route and take necessary measures,’’ they added.
Police said all angles would be investigated once the operation is over and bodies of all militants were recovered.
“We can get many clues from the bodies like the clothes, shoes and other things the militants were wearing and the kind of eatables they were carrying with them. This can give clues whether the militants had infiltrated recently or came from South Kashmir using Mughal Road or Pir Panjal ranges,’’ they said, adding that things would be clear in the next couple of days as the priority was to kill all militants and clear the area after sanitization operations.
Sources said target of the militants could be various security forces and police installations, which were in vicinity of the under-construction Mini-Secretariat building including 93 Brigade Headquarters, SSP and DC offices and other police offices etc but timely information gathered by police and quick action by Army and police confined the ultras to the two buildings and didn’t allow them to come out.
This was after the long time that militants carried out fidayeen attack in the heart of Poonch town though such attacks had taken place earlier also including Poonch police station and town. In one such attack in 2003, DySP Manjit Singh was killed. Several police personnel had lost their lives in fidayeen attack on Poonch police station.
However, such attacks had become things of the past as very few militants were stated to be present in entire border district of Poonch and infiltration attempts had also been plugged. On August 13, lone militant had thrown a grenade on Budda Amarnath Ji pilgrims causing injuries to about 20 pilgrims and civilians. The militant had remained untraced.
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