SRINAGAR: Two army men and a local militant of Lashkar-e-Taiba died in an encounter in a village in Shopian in south Kashmir in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. This is the first encounter in J&K this year in which soldiers have been killed.
A police officer said that acting on specific input, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by police, CRPF and Army in village Chermarg Zainapora area of Shopian early Saturday. A cluster of houses was sealed by the troops and searches were conducted.
“During the search operation, security forces zeroed in on the house of Gowhar Ahmad Bhat but the house-owner intentionally misled the search party and denied the presence of militants in his house,” the officer said. While Bhat was being questioned, a militant hiding in his house opened fire, grievously wounding Army jawans Santosh Yadav and Chavan Romit Tanaji of 1 RR.
The troops retaliated and a Lashkar militant, identified as Abdul Qayoom Dar of Kakapora in Pulwama, was killed. The injured jawans were evacuated to Srinagar, where they succumbed. The owner of the house was arrested.
Police said Qayoom was working as a militant associate before joining their ranks. “His house was also being used as a hideout and in April 2020, he was booked under PSA after an encounter. After his release in August 2021, he continued working as an associate of active militants,” the police officer said, adding that Qayoom was a ‘C’ category militant.