Militants planned to mount a Uri-style attack at the Baramulla Army camp on Sunday night but BSF constable Nitin Kumar (24) put paid to their designs, when he came out of his bunker, all alone, to challenge them.
A senior Border Security Force (BSF) official said on Monday that Kumar was killed when the terrorists hurled grenades at the bunkers outside the Army camp and shrapnel hit him. The BSF is co-deployed with the 46 RR Battalion of the Army and mans some of the bunkers there as part of its road opening duty.
On Monday, the security agencies called off the operation.
Giving out the details of the operation, a source told The Hindu , “Two BSF jawans heard some sound on the river side. When one of them went to check, he was fired upon. He immediately came back to his bunker. As the militants had taken cover near the river bank, our men were not able to fire effectively. At this point, Kumar came out of his bunker and taking cover behind it started firing at the militants. It was then that a grenade was hurled towards him and a shrapnel hit his abdomen, he died of incessant bleeding.”
Two others — Constable Pulwinder and Varun Kumar were also injured in the attack. Home minister Rajnath Singh said he had spoken to National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and BSF DG K.K Sharma and reviewed the situation. “Our forces are giving a befitting reply,” Mr. Singh who is on a two-day visit to Leh said.
In Delhi, Mr. Sharma before inaugurating a friendly volleyball match with Border Guards Bangladesh said, “Constable Nitin Kumar repulsed the attempts of the fidayeen to enter the camp and did not let them succeed. Because of jawans like Kumar we are able to sleep safe and sound in our homes.”
A senior police official in Kashmir said that the attackers, three-four, fled from the spot taking advantage of the congested location “after their bid to carry out Uri-style attack was foiled in effective fire”.
Sources said the attackers hurled grenades and opened indiscriminate fire at the BSF picket. The exchange of fire lasted for two hours.
Reports suggest that two BSF constables of 4th Battalion, manning the picket, adjacent a stadium housing the Army camp, were hit in the initial round of fire from Jhelum river side.
Security agencies said the militants were planning Uri-style attack on nearby Army camp as one compass, one Global Positioning System (GPS) and a wire cutter was found near the encounter site. However, no bodies were recovered from the spot.
“A cordon operation was launched in the area. It seems the militants took narrow alleys of the Baramulla old town to escape. Had the Army fired, there would have been civilian casualties too,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Imtiyaz Hussain told The Hindu.
The old town has been very volatile in the past 87 days of street agitation. There is growing militant activity in the area as security agencies have found videos of local boys joining the militant ranks.
