SRI NAGAR: Three Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, including Lateef Rather who was involved in killing of a Kashmiri Pandit employee and a woman TV artist in May this year, were killed in a day-long encounter with security forces in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Wednesday, police said.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar said police, CRPF and Army launched a joint search operation in Waterhail area of Budgam on Monday evening after receiving inputs about the presence of the three LeT militants.
During the search operation, militants hiding in the area fired on the troops and an encounter started at around 3am. The exchange of gunfire between the two sides continued for the day and in the ensuing firefight, all three LeT militants were killed.
The ADGP identified one of the three militants killed in the gunfight as Lateef Ahmed Rather alias Abdullah alias Osama. “Lateef got active in 2001 and was arrested in 2013. He was released from jail on health grounds in December last year and became active again,” Kumar said, adding that he had transported Pakistani militants involved in an attack on an Army bus at Hyderpora in June 2013, in which 8 soldiers were killed and 19 injured.
According to the ADGP, Lateef was involved in the killing of Rahul Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit employee, TV artist Amreen Bhat and several other civilians. Rahul was shot dead by militants inside Tehsildar’s office at Chadoora in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on May 12, while Amreen was killed at her residence at a village in Budgam’s Chadoora on May 25 this year.“Both Rahul Bhat and Amreen Bhat got justice,” the ADGP said and termed the killing of Lateef as a major success for the security forces.
All Kashmiri Pandit employees, who were recruited under the PM’s job package and posted in the Valley, have not resumed duties since Rahul’s killing. Meanwhile, security forces on Tuesday averted a major tragedy by defusing an IED planted by militants at a busy crossing in south Kashmir’s Pulwama.