SRINAGAR: A day after a policeman was killed in a terror attack in south Kashmir’s Anantnag, houses of two terrorists were demolished in the district on Thursday and more than 2,500 suspects detained during a valley-wide crackdown on the over-ground workers (OGWs). Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha directed security officials to intensify anti-terror operations in the UT.
The authorities demolished houses of two Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists—Adil Thokar and Haroon Rashid Ganaie—in Anantnag by using controlled IED devices. The family members of the terrorists were evacuated before the houses were demolished.
The Thokar family house at Guri village was demolished for the second time. After the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam attack, the house was among many houses demolished. The demolition of two houses came a day after police head constable Ashiq Ahmad Qureshi, who was on Amarnath yatra duty, was shot dead by a terrorist in the Lal Chowk area of Anantnag.
Reacting to demolitions, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said police’s anger is understandable but there is a Supreme Court direction that summary action should not be taken. “We witnessed a similar situation after the Pahalgam attack when some people’s houses were bulldozed.
At that time, I had to speak to the Central government to stop the trend,” Omar told reporters. “During investigation, it turned out that not a single local was involved and all the attackers had come from outside. Demolishing houses or making thousands of arrests will not improve the situation. In fact, it will only worsen it,” Omar said.
