Srinagar, May 30: Two newly recruited militants affiliated with Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) outfit were killed in a brief gunfight between militants and government forces in an 18 hour long gunfight in Gundipora village of Pingelan area in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Monday.
A senior police official said that on Sunday evening, acting on a specific input, joint team of police, Army’s 55 RR and CRPF after receiving information about the presence of militants launched search operation in the area.
He said that as the joint team of forces intensified searches towards suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon the party, which was retaliated, thus triggering an encounter.
He said that during exchange of fire two local militants affiliated with JeM were killed and both were involved in several militancy related cases.
A Police spokesman in a statement said that on a specific input generated by Kulgam Police regarding presence of militants in village Gundipora area of Pulwama, a joint cordon & search operation was launched by Pulwama Police, Army (55RR) and CRPF (182/183Bn) in the area.
“During the search operation, as the joint search party approached towards the suspected spot, the hiding militants hidden in the residential house of Nazir Ahmad Mir son of Mohd Sultan Mir fired indiscriminately upon search party which was retaliated leading to an encounter,” the statement said. “To avoid any collateral damage due to darkness, the operation was suspended during the night hours and in the wee hours the operation was resumed. In the ensuing encounter two militants identified as Abid Hussain Shah son of Late Mushtaq Ahmad Shah resident of Monghama Pulwama and Saqib Azad Sofi son of Azad Ahmad Sofi resident of Amshipora Shopian were killed, affiliated with proscribed terror outfit JeM.”
The statement said that the bodies of slain were retrieved along with the incriminating materials including two AK rifles from the site of encounter. “All the recovered materials from the site of encounter have been taken into case records for further investigation,” the statement said.
The statement said that as per police records, both the killed militants were categorized militants and were part of groups involved in several crime cases including attacks on Police/SF and civilian atrocities. “The killed militant Abid Shah was involved in recent killing of unarmed policeman Ct. Reyaz Ahmad at his residential house at Gadoora area of Pulwama on May 13 this year,” the statement said. While interacting with media, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said that Police have succeeded to a large extent to prevent youth from taking up the arms and are working on multi-dimensional fronts to prevent local militants recruitment, those who motivate and lure young boys towards militancy are being booked under PSA. He also said that, police are also tracking new recruits through technical surveillance and bringing them back.