Big success, 3 most wanted militants killed: IGP
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Aug 23: Police today killed two most wanted militants, the chief of The Resistance Front (TRF) and his deputy in a brief shoot-out in Aloochi Bagh area of Srinagar.
Acting on a specific information, a special police team zeroed in on a location at Aloochi Bagh area of Srinagar adjacent to SOG headquarters and challenged the militants. The hiding militants opened fire triggering an encounter. In the ensuing gunfight, two militants were killed.
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Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar said acting on a tip-off, 10 policemen from the Special Operations Group (SoG) in civvies cordoned a specific location in Aloochi Bagh area.
“They asked the militants to surrender, who instead opened fire. In the brief encounter, two militants were killed,” he said.
Kumar identified the militants as Abbas Sheikh, the TRF chief for Kashmir and his deputy Saqib Manzoor of Barzulla, Srinagar.
The IGP said that today’s operation was conducted in a smooth manner and there was no collateral damage.
He said that they were tracking the movement of this group for the past few days and today they were cornered.
He said that Saqib was the man behind recruiting youth into militancy in Srinagar. Abbas Sheikh, a resident of Kulgam was a dreaded militant who joined militancy in 2005.
“Abbas was arrested twice but he got recycled into militancy and was TRF chief at present,” the IGP said, adding that the killing of Abbas Sheikh and Saqib is a big success for police. “Today’s operation was specifically conducted by the police,” he added.
He said that there are four more active militants in Srinagar and around 50 to 60 OGWs are operating as well. “We will try to catch alive all the active militants and arrest the OGWs,” Kumar said.
The IGP said that the slain militants were involved in recruiting youth, lobbing grenades and killing political workers and policemen in Srinagar city. “The killing of Abbas Sheikh and Saqib Manzoor is a big success,” he added.
A Police spokesman said that both the militants were involved in killing of several political workers, police personnel and civilians.
“Saqib Manzoor was involved in killing of Advocate Babar Qadri last year. Besides, both the terrorists were also involved in several grenade attacks on security establishments and were also involved in several other terror crimes and civilian atrocities. They were also involved in reviving terror folds in district Srinagar and in the process recruited 7 youths into terror ranks in District Srinagar among them 4 stand already neutralized”, the spokesman added.
“Recently a Sarpanch Gh Rasool Dar and his wife, a panch of BJP were killed in Anantnag on the direction of Abbas Sheikh. Deceased BJP leader and Abbas Sheikh were from the same area in Kulgam district”, the spokesman said.
Police said that Srinagar had become a militancy free district a year ago but after Abbas Sheikh shifted to Srinagar city, he motivated and recruited Saqib and 6 other youths from the city into his fold.
Police said that Abbas Sheikh conducted dozens of attacks in Srinagar and other places and 28 FIRs were registered against him and 17 against Saqib.
The IGP earlier this month had issued a list of ten most wanted militants and so far two of them have been killed. The ten militants included Saleem Parray, Yusuf Kantroo, Abbas Sheikh, Reyaz Shatergund, Farooq Nali, Zubair Wani, Ashraf Molvi, Saqib Manzoor, Umar Mushtaq Khanday and Wakeel Shah. Three of them have been killed which included Abbas Sheikh, Saqib Manzoor and Wakeel Shah.
Meanwhile, ten rusted hand grenades were recovered during a joint search operation conducted by army’s 160 TA, 17-JAK RIF and SOG Kralpora in a residential house in Kralpora last evening.
Police said that based on specific input, searches were launched in the residential house of Mohammad Yousaf Mir son of Mohammad Yaseen Mir in Gasla Dardpora Kralpora during which 10 hand grenades were recovered from the house.
A case FIR number 92/2021 under section 3/4 Explosive Substance Act has been registered in this regard at Police Station Kralpora for further investigations.
The house owner’s son Nazir Ahmed Mir has already crossed the LoC in the year 2000 and hasn’t returned back.
Militants today lobbed a grenade on a CRPF bunker of 161 battalion at Ali Masjid in Eidgah area of Srinagar. One CRPF man identified as Pravin Kumar was injured in the attack. He was shifted to SMHS hospital here for treatment. He has splinter injuries in his right hand, right shoulder and right thigh.
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