Three militants, one of them brother of a serving Indian Police Service officer, were killed in a gunfight in Shopian district on Tuesday.
The deceased have been identified as Shamsul Haq Mengnoo alias Burhan Sani of Dragad, Aamir Ahmad Bhat alias Abu Huzaif of Chidipora and Shohaib Ahmad Shah of Shirmal.
All are residents of Shopian district and were affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen.
The militants had taken shelter in a cave-like underground hideout dug in an orchard in Shermal village. The government forces blew up the hideout.
The gunfight erupted early in the morning after a joint team of police, army’s 44 RR and Para commandos launched a search operation in the area. Two soldiers were injured in the first exchange of fire.
“After the initial exchange of fire there was a lull even as the forces plugged all routes to prevent the militants from escaping. However, in the afternoon, forces launched the final assault by using heavy explosives,” an official said.
The militants, he said later came out of the hideout and started firing again, but were gunned down soon.
“Three AK-47 rifles were received from their possession,” an official said.
After the gunfight was over, the hideout was blown up by the forces using improvised explosive devices.
Searches continued for several hours as there were inputs about the presence of more militants in the area, the official said. But the operation was soon called off after nothing was found.
HAQ PICKED UP ARMS LAST YEAR
Haq, 25, brother of 2012 batch IPS officer Inam-ul-Haq who is currently posted in Northeast, had joined militancy in May last year.
He was pursuing Bachelors of Unani Medicine and Surgery (BUMS) from Government Unani College Zakoora in Srinagar.
Haq’s another brother is a lecturer at the Government Polytechnic College.
His maternal cousin, Zubair Turray, a Tehreek-i-Hurriyat activist-turned-Hizb militant, was killed last year on April 1 near his house along with six of his associates.
Former director general of police SP Vaid wrote on Twitter that Haq’s killing was a “sad end”.
“Shams ul Haq, brother of IPS officer, who had joined militant ranks was among the three militants killed today in Shopian. I remember the efforts that were made by his brother/other family members and J&K police to bring him back to mainstream but he met a sad end today,” wrote Vaid.
The other two militants, Aamir and Shoaib, were class 12 students before joining Hizb last year.
HIDEOUT IN THE OPEN
The encounter is the fourth of its kind in the past two months in which slain militants had taken shelter in a hideout that is not a residential house.
On November 23 last year, six Hizb and LeT militants, including the top commander of the latter Azad Malik alias Dada, were killed in a hideout dug up in an orchard in Shalgund-Satkipora village of Dachnipora in Bijbehara. A tin shed was used as a cover.
Days later, in a similar encounter, three militants were killed in an orchard in Sirnoo village of Pulwama. The deceased were also found hiding in an underground hideout in an orchard. Hizb commander Zahoor Thokar, who had deserted army to join the militant group, was one of them.
The third such encounter took place in December last year. Militants were found to have built a hideout in a “cave-like structure” in Arampora village of Tral, in Pulwama district.
Six Ansar Ghazwatul Hind militants, including the group’s deputy chief Sauliha Aakhoon, were killed.
PROTESTS
As Tuesday’s gunfight was on, residents from neighbouring villages, braving heavy snowfall, tried to rush towards the gunfight site in a bid to help militants escape.
However, the forces prevented them from getting close to the site by firing teargas shells and shotgun metallic pellets.
Several protesters were injured in the clashes.
POLICE STATEMENT
A police statement read: “It is to mention that it was a difficult operation due to the terrain and there were clashes in the area which was handled by the security forces. Pertinently, only five cases of injuries were reported and three of them were discharged after preliminary medical attention. Separately, six security forces injured during the clashes have been discharged after medical attention”.
It adds: “Although this was a day-long operation, the effort of SFs and cooperation of citizen did not result in any significant injuries or collateral damage. While acknowledging it, we once again request that citizens not to venture inside the encounter zones, since such an area is a prohibited zone. Encounter zones can prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials. Citizens are requested to cooperate with police till the area is completely sanitised and cleared of all the explosives materials if any.”
“The killed militants as per the police records were affiliated with proscribed outfit HM and were wanted by the law for their complicity in a series of crimes including attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities,” the statement reads.
“Shoaib Shah according to police records was involved in several crime offenses and several cases were registered against him. Similarly Aamir Suhail Bhat was also involved in several attacks. He along with the other militants had attacked the residential guard at Chittragam in August 2018 for which a case is registered at police station Zainpora,” the statement read.
“According to police records, Shamsul Haq Mengnoo was part of conspiracies along with others leading to weapon snatching, recruitment to militancy fold, attacks on security forces and so on. Several related cases were registered against him,” the police said in the statement, adding: “Bodies of the killed militants were handed over to their families after completion of medico-legal formalities”.