2 LeT militant killed, Cop hurt in separate attacks in Kashmir

Two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants were killed and cop sustained injuries in separate attacks in across Kashmir region while security forces thwart major terror incident in Jammu by recovering explosive from a bus.

As per reports, the two militants including the one allegedly involved in the recent killing of a bank manager, were gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district.

Acting on specific information regarding the presence of terrorists in Shopian’s Kanji Ullar village, a cordon-and-search operation was launched by the security forces in the area, according to a police spokesperson.

During the search operation, as the forces approached the suspected spot, the terrorists fired indiscriminately on them, which was retaliated effectively, the spokesperson said.

In the ensuing encounter, two terrorists were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the encounter site. They were identified as Jan Mohammad Lone, a resident of Braripora in Shopian, and Tufail Nazir Ganie, a resident of Ramnagri in Shopian, the spokesperson said.

He added that according to police records, the slain ultras were linked with proscribed outfit LeT and were part of groups involved in several terror crime cases, including attacks on police and other security forces and civilian atrocities.

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir Vijay Kumar said Lone was involved in the killing of bank manager Vijay Kumar in Kulgam on June 2.

He also revealed that Lone was earlier working as an overground worker (OGW) for LeT district commander Adil Ramzan and had killed the bank manager on the latter’s directions.

“After this terror crime, he actively joined the terror ranks and we have been tracking him ever since. Ganie had earlier escaped from two encounters in Kulgam’s Chaki Samad area on April 9 and Khur-Batpora area on April 11,” Kumar said.

Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition, including an AK-47 rifle and a pistol, were recovered from the encounter site. All the recovered materials have been taken into the case records for further investigation, the spokesperson said.

He said Kumar congratulated the joint teams for carrying out the anti-terrorist operation in a professional manner and without any collateral damage. He also appreciated the efforts of the police in tracking down and neutralising the terrorist involved in the bank manager’s killing.

Meanwhile, a police personnel was injured in a grenade attack in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The attack took place at a police naka at Padshahi Bagh area of the south Kashmir district.
“Terrorists hurled a #grenade towards Police Naka at Padshahi Bagh area of #Anantnag, resulting in minor injuries to one police personnel,” the Kashmir Zone Police tweeted.

A case has been registered, the police said, adding, the area has been cordoned off and a search operation launched.

Moreover, the Jammu and Kashmir Police recovered explosives in the form of gelatin sticks from a bus carrying an unidentified number of passengers on the outskirts of the city.

The explosives were detected during a routine check at Jajjar Kotli along Jammu-Srinagar national highway, a police spokesperson said.

He said that experts from Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) were immediately rushed to the scene and the explosive substance was later detonated through a controlled mechanism.

A case under relevant sections of law was registered at Jajjar Kotli police station and further investigation is underway, the spokesperson said.

The officials said the bus was coming from Doda to Jammu when it was stopped for checking by a police team.
At least two persons were detained for questioning in connection with the presence of the explosive material in the bus along with some detonators, they said.