Unidentified militants shot dead three civilians in north Kashmir’s Baramulla on Monday evening, the Jammu and Kashmir police said.
In another incident in Pulwama, two Hizbul Mujahideen militants and a civilian were killed during search operations by security forces. Two Army personnel and 15 others were injured.
Motive unclear
The victims of the Baramulla incident were identified as Asif Ahmad Sheikh, Haseeb Ahmad Khan and Mohammad Asgar, all residents of Kakar Hamam. The incident took place after the sunset when the unknown gunmen fired at close range on the three civilians near Iqbal Market Khanpora. .
The police, however, refused to speculate on the motive for the attack. “Preliminary investigation reveals the role of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. One Pakistan-based and two other local militants of Baramulla are the principal suspects in this case and are already wanted by law. The police have started investigation into the matter,” the police spokesman said.
Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants, one of them a wanted “commander”, were killed and two Army personnel injured in the gunfight during search operations at Drubgam in Pulwama early on Monday, a police officer said.
Crowds at site
He said Sameer Ahmad Bhat, alias Sameer Tiger, of Drubgam and Aqib Mushtaq Khan of Rajpora were trapped during the operation. A Major and another Army man were injured in the initial exchange of fire.
Shahid Ahmad Dar, 25, of Arihal died of gunshot wounds, as hundreds of local people clashed with the security forces near the encounter site. Of 15 injured, five were shifted to Srinagar hospitals with serious injuries.
The local people alleged that the security forces “fired directly into the crowds” converging on the encounter site.
“Dar died in the crossfire. The other injured are said to be stable,” the police said.
Sameer Tiger, the Hizb “commander”, died hours after his video went viral online on Sunday night.
In the video, Tiger, who joined militancy in May 2016, was seen interrogating an alleged informer for identification of those working with security agencies.
“Tiger was involved in the firing at the residence of a former MLA, a grenade attack and the killing of Bashir Ahmad Dar.
He also attacked personnel of 44 Rashtriya Rifles last year. He was a close confidant of Hizb ‘commander’ Riyaz Naikoo,” the police said.
Aqib Mushtaq Khan had been an active militant since July 2017.
Call for shut-down
Separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik have called a shutdown for Tuesday to condemn the death of Shahid Dar.
“Under the pretext of encounter, the security forces have unleashed a reign of terror. They resorted to indiscriminate firing and killed a civilian,” they said in a joint statement.
They said Sameer and Aqib picked up arms because “all means of peaceful expression for Kashmiri youth have been choked.”
The University of Kashmir has postponed the examinations scheduled for Tuesday. Train services will remain suspended.
