A Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) militant and a policeman were killed in an encounter in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district in the early hours on Wednesday.
This is the first security operation undertaken by teams of the Army, J&K police and the CRPF since August 5, when two Bills were tabled in the Rajya Sabha to annul the application of Article 370 that gave special status to the State and downgrade it to two Union Territories. Most parts of the Kashmir Valley have been under lockdown, with partial removal of restrictions, for the past fortnight. The communication blockade continues, with only landline phones working in some areas.
The encounter started at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday and continued till 3.30 a.m. the next day.
The body of the militant, said to be a local, was recovered around 6.30 a.m. on Wednesday, an official told The Hindu .
The J&K police said in a tweet that the militant had been identified as Momin Gojri, a resident of Baramulla. He was affiliated to Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Heavy stone-pelting ensued in the area when the encounter was on.
“We had information of two terrorists holed up in a house; this morning, we recovered one body,” the official said.
One SPO identified as Billal Ahmad succumbed to injuries, while another J&K police personnel Sub-inspector Amardeep Parihar has been rushed to an army hospital for further treatment.
(With inputs from PTI)
