SRINAGAR, NOV 27: Two militants and an army soldier were killed and two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel wounded in a gunfight in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Tuesday.
A police official said that two militants were killed in the gunfight. Adding that the slain are believed to be affiliated with Lashkar-e-Toiba militant outfit. He said that an army soldier, identified as Prakash Yadav, was wounded in the firefight. He was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed.
The official said that two CRPF personnel, identified as sub-inspector Amit Kumar and Constable Avnish, were also injured in the gunfight that broke out around 1 am in Redwani area of the district.
A joint team of army’s 1RR, CRPF and SOG cordoned off Redwani after midnight following inputs about the presence of militants. Official said the militants opened fire after a search party approached the house in which they were hiding.
Meanwhile Jammu and Kashmir police issued the statement after two militants and an army man were killed in Kulgam gunfight. “Based on a credible input about the presence of militants in Redwani area of District Kulgam, a cordon and search operation was launched in the midnight jointly 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. In the initial exchange of fire, one jawan of 01 RR sustained injuries. He was evacuated to the hospital where he succumbed. Besides, two men of 163 Bn CRPF sustained minor injuries in the encounter”, statement issued reads.
“In the ensuing encounter, two militants were killed and the bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter”, it added. A spokesman identified the slain as Ajaz Ahmad Makroo son of Late Ghulam Rasool Makroo resident of Qaimoh and Waris Ahmad Malik son of Bashir Ahmad resident of Arwani.
Ajaz Makroo as per police records had a long history of crime records since 2017. He was a close associate of terrorist commanders Naveed Jat and Azad Dada. Several cases were registered against him and the prominent among them include FIR No. 60/2016, FIR No. 45/2017, FIR No. 100/2017, FIR No. 10/2018, FIR No. 13/2018 registered at Police Station Kulgam. Similarly, Waris was also figured in several crimes cases,” said the spokesman.
“Incriminating materials including arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of encounter. Police has registered a case and initiated investigation in the matter. Citizens are requested not to venture inside the encounter zone since such an area can prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials. People are requested to cooperate with police till the area is completely sanitized and cleared of all the explosives materials if any”, police said news agency.
