Two local Hizbul Mujahideen militants, who escaped at the end of a day-long encounter in Kulgam’s Qazigund area on Tuesday, were arrested from two separate spots on Wednesday.
A police official said combing operation in the Kund Nowbug area around the encounter site was resumed in the morning. A soldier and a militant were killed in the gun battle on Tuesday.
A police official said a local militant, Aqib Iqbal Malik alias Talha Bhai, a resident of Ringet Noorabad, was arrested from the area. Malik, who joined militancy earlier this year, had been injured.
Another militant, who is also believed to have fled from the encounter site in Kulgam, was apprehended as he was trying to board a train in the morning. He has been identified as Shams Waqar, said a police official.
Meanwhile, the Army has identified the deceased soldier as sepoy Manjinder Singh. Singh, 22, joined the army in 2015 and was a resident of Punjab’s Mansa area.
Mirwaiz, Malik arrested
Separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, addressed a small rally in Srinagar on Wednesday. They called for a shutdown on November 27 against the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raids and ongoing “crackdown of civilian population” during counter-insurgency operations in the Valley.
The Mirwaiz and Mr. Malik, along with 30 supporters, were arrested when they tried to lead a protest march towards the city centre Lal Chowk.
Earlier, Mr. Geelani addressed a rally on the phone. The Mirwaiz and Mr. Malik were present at Abi Guzar to jointly address the media. “This puppet government has crossed all limits of oppression. If they thinks they can break our resolve and unity, they are mistaken. We are not going to surrender under any circumstance,” said Mr. Malik.
‘Fabricated cases’
He alleged that NIA raids and the security agencies’ operation against civilian population in south and north Kashmir “is aimed at forcing us to surrender.” The trio said the shutdown on November 27 was also against the “maltreatment of detainees and the fabricated cases being slapped on leaders and supporters.”
For many months now, separatists in Kashmir have been barred from holding public rallies.
