Srinagar/Pulwama, Nov 20: Two persons including a militant and a former militant were killed in Kashmir during the past 24 hours while a grenade was lobbed on a patrolling party of CRPF in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
SP Sopore, Altaf Ahmad Khan, said an unidentified militant was killed in a fierce gunfight in Sopore area.
Khan said police and troops of 22 Rashtriya Rifles launched a joint cordon-and-search operation at Shalimar Colony Sopore. “An encounter ensued during which one militant was killed,” the SP said. “His identity is yet to be ascertained.”
 He said the encounter is on.
 A former militant was killed in south Kashmir’s Pulwama area.
 The residents said on Thursday night unidentified gunmen barged into the house of former militant Showkat Ahmad Malik at Grawgund village of Pulwama. “They shot him there and fled,” a resident said. “Afterwards Malik was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries in the wee hours today.”
 The residents said Malik was earlier affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen outfit and was released after he served his sentence. Unidentified persons hurled a grenade on the patrolling party of CRPF near Kakapora main chock of Pulwama district this afternoon.
 The device exploded with a bang but no loss of life and property was reported.  The grenade landed in the premises of the Kakapora police post, which was destroyed in September this year during violent protests.
 Soon after the explosion, panic gripped entire area. The police deployed in the area opened fire in air to disperse the people.
 Later, eyewitnesses said, police arrested one shopkeeper namely Ishtiaq Ahmad Sofi, 21, a resident of Kakapora.
 Additional SP Pulwama, Rajesh Bali, told Greater Kashmir that a case has been registered in both cases.
 Bali said during the grenade attack nobody was injured. “We arrested a person from Kakapora in connection with stone pelting.”
 In Narbal area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district, police claimed to have arrested a Hizb militant.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 20 Nov 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 20 Nov 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 21 Nov 2010 00:00:00 IST