Two militants, including a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, and two civilians were killed as an encounter between militants and security forces once again sparked stone pelting by locals in Anantnag on Saturday.
The police identified the LeT commander as Bashir Ahmad alias Bashir Lashkari of Kokernag. “Lashkari was among the militants who attacked the police vehicle on June 16, in which Station House Officer Feroz Ahmad Dar was killed along with five others,” said Inspector-General of Police Kashmir range, Muneer Khan.
Police fear reprisals
The police fear reprisals after Lashkari’s killing. “The police should stay alert,” said Mr. Khan, and asked civilians to avoid rushing towards encounter sites. The police identified the other slain militant as Abu Maaz, a foreigner.
Mr. Khan said that on a tip-off about the movement of a group of militants, Brenti-Batpora village in Dialgam, Anantnag, was cordoned off by the police and the Army. “As the security forces were putting in place the cordon, the militants opened fire. In the initial exchange of fire, one woman was killed,” he said.
Mr. Khan said a “major hostage crisis” was averted as the militants, who were holed up in a cluster of houses, were not allowing 17 civilians to come out.
“We halted the fire till the civilians were shifted to safer location. Later, in the exchange of fire, two militants were killed,” he said.
However, disputing the police statement, eyewitnesses and locals alleged that two civilians — Tahira Begum, 44, and Shadab Ahmad Chopan, 22, — were killed when security forces fired on protesters at the encounter site at Brenti-Batpora village.
Both Begum and Ahmad were hit by bullets. Several others were also injured with at least four persons suffering bullet wounds.
“We urge the law enforcing agencies to exercise utmost restraint while dealing with such situations,” said CPI(M) secretary G.N. Malik.
Scores of stone-pelting locals had converged on the encounter site in a bid to help the trapped militants to escape, said police officials. MLA Engineer Rashid alleged Lashkari was “forced to re-join the militant outfits due to severe torture and humiliation by various security agencies”.
‘Destruction must end’
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who expressed grief over civilian deaths, said, “The vicious cycle of death and destruction confronting Kashmir must end at the earliest and efforts should be made at all levels to revive the peace and reconciliation process for the larger good of the people sandwiched in a gory situation”
