A policeman constable who has been identified as Manzoor Ahmad Naik from Uri was among those killed in south Kashmir on Sunday during an encounter that began on Saturday and continued throughout the night. He was part of the assault team of the security forces that launched the operation. According to S P Vaid, J&K police chief, Monzoor Ahmad was an outstanding jawan of the Special Group Operation.
The encounter started on Saturday evening in hafoo Nazneenpora village of Tral in South Kashmir Pulwana district when a joint search of the army and Special Operation Group of J&K police cordoned off the area and started search operation following a tip-off about the presence of two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists in the area.
As the security forces closed on the hiding terrorists, a blast was heard and the security personnel began exchanging heavy gunfire with the terrorists. Soon after the encounter started, the locals started hurling stones at the security personnel in an attempt to disrupt them. In the mix-up, an identified man snatched an INSAS rifle from a CPRF jawan. The police have not been able to identify the snatcher yet.
Two terrorists who were holed in the residential building in South Kashmir’s Tral were killed and three security personnel were injured in the gun battle. Chief police, S P Valid stated that one of the terrorists killed in the encounter was local and the other was a Pakistan. The local terrorist was identified as Aqip Maulvi.
The house terrorist used as a hideout has since been demolished and as of Sunday morning, the protestors were still hurling stones intermittently but the police stated that the law and order situation was under control.
“The encounter is over and we are busy clearing the site”, said S J M Gilani, the inspector General of police. Though reports claim that Sabzar, Hizb ul Mujahideen commander was also trapped in the area and locals might have helped him escape, Gilani has refuted these claims stating that Sabzar was not in the area the situation is now perfectly fine.
According to reports, one of the terrorist in the encounter had close ties with Burhan Wani, Hizbul poster boy who was killed in July 2016. His killing triggered protests across the Valley. In the subsequent unrest, almost 100 people have been killed with over 12,000 injured. According to officials, 24 militants and 29 army men have been killed this year alone. Police reports also indicate 100 locals have joined the militants in the last year with 60 of them joining after the killing of Burhan Wan, Hizbul Majahideen commander on July last year. Also, over 60 weapons have been snatched from government forces and police officers in 2016 alone.
