About 12 hours ago, a video showed Hizb commander Sameer Bhat alias Sameer Tiger purportedly asking a ‘suspected army informer’ to ask the army officer ‘for whom he was working’ to “confront me directly if he has the guts”. The confrontation did happen in Drubgam village on Monday. Sameer, 23, and another militant, Aqib Khan, 19, were killed. Rohit Shukla, the army major Sameer had challenged, and two other soldiers were injured in the gunfight.
A youth was also killed and 20 others injured as governments forces fired live ammunition into the protesters who were trying to help the holed up militants escape near the encounter site.
Sameer, who joined up militant ranks in May 2016, was a wanted militant.
“He was involved in number of criminal acts and civilians atrocities,” inspector general of police (IGP) Kashmir SP Pani told Greater Kashmir.
Pani said Sameer recruited many into militancy and “created fear among people”.
Another police official, requesting anonymity, said Sameer was also involved in the killing of a BJP worker, GhulamNabi Patel, last week in Pulwama.
Major Rohit Shukla of the 42 RR battalion and the two injured soldiers are being treated at army’s base hospital in Srinagar.
“The duo is in critical condition,” an army official said.
The civilian killed in forces firing was identified as 21-year-old Shahid Ahmad Dar of Arihal village in Pulwama.
The gunfight between militants and forces erupted early Monday morning in the native village of Sameer, not far from his home.
“We had inputs regarding presence of Sameer Tiger and his associate Aqib Khan in the area,” a police official said.
The militants injured the three army troopers at the beginning of the gunfight and exchanged fire with forces for several hours. The forces then blew up with explosives the house in which the militant duo had taken up position.
As the word spread that Sameer was under siege, the people in his native village and from neighbouring villages marched towards the encounter site in a bid to help him and his associate escape.
The government forces, in a bid to keep protesters at bay, fired tear smoke shells, pellets and bullets, leaving at least 21 civilians injured. The majority of the injured had bullet injuries, said medical superintendent of Pulwama district hospital Dr Rasheed Parra.
Six of the injured are being treated at the SMHS Hospital, two at SKIMS and one at Bone and Joint Hospital Srinagar.
Two of them had sustained pellet injuries in eyes, two in body and rest have bullet injures, doctors said.
SAMEER TIGER
Sameer hit the headlines last year after his photo with an US-made M4 carbine went viral on social networking site, inviting a debate that how the weapon made its way into the Valley
His videos wherein he was seen threatening police and army informers of dire consequences in case they don’t mend their ways also went viral several times.
Just 12 hours before his death, another video in which he had challenged the army major was also shared widely.
The video, shot during the night, shows a man identifying himself as Jeelani Ahmad Dar squatted before the militant (not seen in the video) who is seeking details of other army and police informers from him.
Dar seeks forgiveness in the video and the militant directs him to convey to Shukla to fight him directly.
FUNERAL
Tens of thousands turned up at the funerals of the deceased militants. At Sameer’s funeral, five armed militants turned up and offered gun salute to their fallen commander. Aqib Khan hailed from Bellora village of Rajpora area.