Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday said that the slain militant commander Sameer Ahmad Bhat alias tiger was involved in several attacks on forces and the civilians.
Bhat was killed along with an associate in a gunfight in Drubgam village of Pulwama today.
Giving details, a police spokesman said that a joint party of 44RR, 182/183 CRPF along with Pulwama Police carried out searches at Drubgam village in Pulwama in wee hours today.
“As the search was going on, militants fired upon the search party which was retaliated by the security forces triggering an encounter at Drubgam, Pulwama,” he said.
During the encounter, he said, two militants who were trapped inside the cordon were killed. “They have been identified as Sameer Ahmad Bhat alias Sameer Tiger S/O Mohd Maqbool Bhat a local from Drubgam, and Aqib Mushtaq Khan S/O Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, a resident of Rajpora of Pulwama,” said the spokesman.
He said Bhat was earlier recruited as an OGW by Hizb after passing Class 8th “since he had discontinued his education due to lack of interest in studies.”
He was involved in several stone pelting incidents prior to his militant activities, said the spokesman.
“He was active in the area since May 2016 and had remained part of several cases of civilian atrocities in the area.”
“He was involved in the firing incident on the residential house of Ex MLA Syed Bashir Ahmad and in a grenade attack on the Naka Party at Hawal, Pulwama.”
“Besides his involvement was established in the kidnapping and firing on two civilians from Qasbayar in which one civilian Bashir Ahmad Dar had died instantly while another Altaf Ahmad Dar was seriously injured.”
“Last year, he had indiscriminately fired upon a patrolling party of 44 RR besides he had also entered into the residential houses of civilians in South Kashmir and forced them to issue video statements against the government and security agencies.”
“Sameer was said to be a close confidant of HM commander Riyaz Naikoo and both had been spotted together in a video released recently on social media.”
The other militant was Aqib Mushtaq Khan who was active since July 2017.
He said that the bodies of both the slain militants have been retrieved from the site of encounter.
“2 AK 47 rifles and other incriminating material have also been seized.”
He said a civilian, identified as Shahid Ahmad Dar (25), son of Mohd Ashraf Dar, resident of Arihal Pulwama, died in cross firing “while some others were injured who are all stated to be stable.”