House owner misled us, will be booked: IGP
Excelsior Correspondent
Jammu, Jan 12: A policeman was martyred and a foreign Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant killed and three security men and two civilians were injured in an ongoing encounter in Pariwan area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district today.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, said that a cop identified as Selection Grade constable, Rohit Chhib, was martyred and three Army soldiers were injured in the gun battle. Two civilians were also injured as the gun battle raged.
He said that one foreign militant was killed in the encounter. “One AK-47 rifle, one pistol and two grenades were recovered from the encounter site”, he added.
Kumar said that the house owner would be booked under terror law for misguiding the security forces.
“House owner told search party that there was no terrorist inside. So, police and Army personnel went inside to check. They misguided our men. We will book them under terror laws”, he said.
Earlier, a joint team of Police, Army and CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in the area. As the joint team of police approached towards suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon the security forces triggering off a gunfight.
The IGP said that one more militant is hiding inside the house and the searches will be conducted in the morning.
The cordon around the village has been tightened and more troops have been rushed to the area to prevent the trapped militant from fleeing. He said that the operation will be resumed at the first light to avoid any further casualties.
Pertinently, the year 2022 started with encounters and as per official figures, in the first 12 days of the New Year, 14 militants were killed in eight encounters.
The slain includes top Lashkar-e-Toiba militant, Saleem Parray. Srinagar district witnessed two encounters, Kulgam three, Kupwara one, Pulwama and Budgam one encounter each.
Last year, 189 militants were killed in Kashmir in various gun battles while 39 civilians were also killed in various militancy related incidents.
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