Hizbul Mujahideen's recycled militant Javed Salfi of Bulbul Nowgam was trapped in his hideout at Sempora village, in Qazigund area of south Kashmir, where the Jammu and Kashmir Police and security forces launched a major cordon-and-search operation on Monday.
A former counter-insurgency informant of the Army and Police, Salfi has been inducted into Hizbul Mujahideen by its jailed commander Fayaz Talak, official sourced said.
Salfi, according to these sources, had fired upon a Constable near Janglat Mandi in Anantnag town last year. He ran away with the injured constable's service trifle.
Official sources told The Hindu that troops of Rashtriya Rifles 9th battalion along with Special Operations Group of Anantnag and Kulgam district police launched the cordon-and-search operation at Sempora after receiving specific information of Salfi's presence at the house of Ghulam Mohammad Parray.
During the operation, the holed up militant engaged the Police and the security forces in a gunfight and made unsuccessful attempts to escape.
"The encounter has begun at 9:40 a.m. We have cordoned the locality", Deputy Inspector General in South Kashmir Vijay Kumar, said from the spot on telephone. He confirmed that Salfi had got trapped but maintained that he was still alive and responding to the Police and the Army offensive with sustained resistance.
