Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Jan 31: One militant was killed in a fierce encounter in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district and another has been trapped in a house after they fired at security forces this evening.
The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police South Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, told Excelsior that militants this evening fired upon a police party at Kangun village in Muran area of district Pulwama.
“One militant has been killed and we tried to recover his body but we were fired upon by another militant. The gun battle is going on and the entire village is under cordon”, said Kumar.
The DIG said that Police, Central Reserve Police Force and 55 Rashtriya Rifles are conducting the operation. “We will conduct the searches once the gun fight ends”, he said.
Sources said that entire village is under cordon and more troops have been rushed to the area so as to stop another trapped militant from fleeing the village during the night. Generators’ have been also taken to the village to lit up the area to prevent the militant from fleeing the area.
Sources said that militants took shelter in the house of Ghulam Hassan Dar son of Habibullah Dar after they fired on a police party. They suspect the militants belong to Lashkar-e-Toiba militant outfit and one of them is Tauseef Ahmad a local militant.
In the meantime, police and 22 RR of Army, 179 Battalion of CRPF launched search operation in Shiva village and adjoining forests in North Kashmir’s Sopore area after reports that Mushtaq Ahmad Changa of Armpora who was abducted by unidentified gunmen has been taken to the forests.
The security forces conducted house to house searches of the village and also parts of forest area. However, no one was arrested.
Changa was abducted during the night intervening January 29 and 30 by around 5 gunmen who barged into his house at the dead of night.
The family, relatives and residents of Armpora in Sopore today protested in front of Police Station Sopore and demanded whereabouts of Changa. The SHO pacified them and the protesters later dispersed.
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