Naveed Jatt, associate killed

The chief of Lashkar-e-Toiba in Kashmir Naveed Jatt and his associate were killed and two army soldiers injured in a gunfight with forces in Budgam district on Wednesday, even as a purported video showing another militant escaping from the encounter site went viral on social network sites. The police called Jatt’s killing a “major success for security agencies.”

Naveed alias Abu Hanzallah was wanted by the police ever since he managed to flee from Srinagar’s general specialty SMHS hospital where he was taken for a checkup in February this year while in custody.

   

According to the police, Naveed, a resident of Multan, Pakistan was also one of the prime suspects in the killing of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari.

A top intelligence source said that the slain commander, “who was part of Ajmal Kassab group, was carrying a bounty of Rs 15 lakh on his head”.

Kassab was hanged for his alleged involvement in 2008 Mumbai attacks.

‘MAJOR SUCCESS’

Addressing media at police control room here, director general of police Dilbag Singh said a joint operation by the police, CRPF and the army was launched last night at Chattergam area in Budgam district after “inputs” about the presence of militants there.

“The operation is over. Its main highlight is that chief commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba Naveed Jatt, who was operating for a long time in Kashmir, has been killed,” Singh said, adding that the killing of Jatt is a “big success for security agencies as he was the man behind civilian killings, including the killing of a civilian whose throat was slit in a southern Kashmir area. He was also involved in killing policemen and bank robbery cases in southern Kashmir.”

The DGP said in the last one week, 24 militants were killed in Kashmir, including some top commanders.

“Most of the killed militants were involved in luring youth towards militancy, accusing youth of being informers and killing them,” he said. “People must heave a sigh of relief as southern Kashmir will now see less militancy-related activities”. To a query about total number of militants killed this year (so far), the DGP said 230 militants have been killed while 250 are active in Kashmir.

“The number of active militants keeps on fluctuating,” he said.

Singh said the “overall graph of militancy in Kashmir was on a decline, of late”.

“We had a series of successful operations where in top commanders were killed in southern Kashmir. Recruitment (into militancy) has also come down. In the past two months, not a single incident of a local youth joining militancy has come to the fore,” he said.

The DGP said that stone-pelting incidents have “drastically decreased” even though “scattered incidents of clashes” take place at encounter sites where “unfortunate incidents also take place sometimes”.

“My appeal to the youth is that they should not disrupt the anti-militancy operations and engage forces in law and order situation. Youth should not take part in protests near the encounter sites as it poses risk to them,” he said.

The state police chief appealed to the local militants to return to their homes, stating that the police “will facilitate their homecoming.”

“We will sincerely help local boys to return and join their families. We assure them that we will ensure their rehabilitation,” he said. “The government is working on a rehabilitation policy for these youth.”

The DGP said that since there were some encounters in Srinagar in the recent past, bunkers were set up to prevent attacks and stop militants from moving around. 

“People do understand it and are cooperating with us. Peace in the City is our top priority,” he said. “We will have better and a peaceful tomorrow”.

‘WILL ASK PAK TO TAKE HIS BODY’

The state police chief Wednesday said it would write to the government of India to ask Pakistan to claim the body of Jatt for performing his last rites.

Since 2017, the police said it has been repeatedly writing to Pakistan through the union ministry of home affairs, whenever there is a killing of top commanders who are natives of Pakistan, to claim their bodies.

“For this, the police preserve the DNA samples of all the killed militants,” the police said.

The DGP Singh told reporters Wednesday that “we will write to GoI through our competent authority to ask Pakistan to claim the body of Naveed for the last rites.”

CLASHES AT ENCOUNTER SITE

Soon after the news about killing of Naveed spread, hundreds of youth marched towards the encounter site in Chattergam amid pro-freedom sloganeering.

Youth hurled rocks and bricks at the forces who, in turn, fired pellets and scores of teargas shells to disperse the protestors, a witness said.

“10 youth sustained injuries in the clashes. Three of them were hit by pellets, one of them in eyes,” he said.

Earlier, two houses, one of them fully, were damaged in the gunfight.

POLICE STATEMENT

“A cordon-and-search operation was launched in the pre-dawn hours based on a credible input about the presence of militants in Kuthpora Chattergam area of district Budgam jointly by the police and security forces. When searches were on, the search party was fired upon by the hiding militants. The fire was retaliated, leading to a gunfight in which two militants were killed and their bodies retrieved,” a police spokesman said in a statement.

“Among the two militants, one has been identified as Naveed Jatt alias Hanzalla who was known as commander of LeT. He was wanted by law for his complicity in a series of crimes including killing of noted journalist Shujaat Bukhari, attacks on security establishments and many other civilian atrocities,” the police statement read.

“As per his earlier disclosure, Naveed was born in Multan Pakistan. He was part of Ajmal Kasab group at a madrassa in Pakistan where he had undergone arms training. He was apprehended by the police in June 2014, but he managed to escape from the custody in February 2018 while he was being taken to SMHS hospital Srinagar for medical treatment from central jail Srinagar. In a shootout that took place at the hospital, two policemen were martyred,” the spokesman said.

The police said the identity of the second militant is being ascertained. 

LASHKAR PAYS TRIBUTE

In a statement, a Lashkar-e-Toiba spokesman said: “We pay tribute to the sacrifice of our heroes who achieved martyrdom today in Budgam. Our deepest thanks are also due to all Kashmiri people who feed and take care of these warriors as their own sons. We also request the Kashmiri people to not listen to the propaganda and lies of New Delhi in Kashmir. Their only intention is to defame and discredit these warriors who have left all the comforts of their life and chosen a path of sacrifice for freedom.”

The statement read: “New Delhi has itself been exposed time and again when it killed innocent tourists, members of minority communities and even its own military officers and then conveniently put the blame on indigenous Kashmiri fighters only to defame us and our struggle. But every time its concocted stories were exposed in front of the whole world. This, however, has had no effect on them and they continue to propagate white lies with a straight face even as these fantasy stories have become the laughing stock of the whole world.”

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