Umer Rashid / Qayoom Khan
Srinagar, March 28 : Three militants were killed in a gunfight with government forces at Kellar area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Thursday.
A police spokesperson in a statement said that “based on credible inputs about the presence of militants” in Yawran area of Keller, a cordon and search operation was launched by Police and security forces in the area.
As the searches were going on, the search party was fired upon by the militants. The fire was retaliated leading to a gunfight, the spokesman said.
“In the ensuing encounter, three local militants were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter. Pertinently with the efforts of Police and security forces, it was a clean operation and no collateral damage happened during the encounter,” the spokesman said.
The spokesperson identified the slain as Sajad Khanday, Aqib Ahmad Dar and Basharat Ahmad Mir, all residents of Pulwama.
“It was a combined group of HM and LeT militant outfits. They were wanted by law for their complicity in a series of attacks including the attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities,” the spokesman said.
As per police records, Aqib had a long history of crime records and several cases were registered against him. He was involved in conspiring and executing many militant attacks in the area, the spokesman said.
Similarly, Sajad and Basharat were involved in many attacks and several cases were also registered against them, the spokesman said.
“Incriminating materials including 03 AK rifles were recovered from the site of encounter. All these materials have been taken in the case records for further investigation and to probe their complicity in other cases,” the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the slain were handed over to their respective families for last rites after conducting all legal formalities, another police officer said.
Thousands of people assembled in the respective villages of the slain trio to offer their funeral prayers amid shutdown in Pulwama district. Eye-witnesses said that a large number of mourners including women staged massive pro-freedom, pro-Islam and anti-India protests.
Reports said that a militant group also appeared in the native village of the slain Aqib and offered him a gun-salute.
Following the killing, a complete shutdown amid clashes was observed in native villages of the slain militants and its adjoining areas including Pulwama town.
In wake of the gunfight, the authorities have snapped internet services in twin districts of Pulwama and Shopian as a precautionary measure. (GNS)
