SRINAGAR :The Statepolice today confirmed that the Non-militant killed at gagran in CRPF firing on September 7 was a militant of Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) Abdullah Haroon.
Talking to reporters here this evening, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir range, Abdul Gani Mir said all evidence gathered so far clearly confirms that the fourth person killed in Gagran firing on September 7 was a Lashker militant.
The confirmation by Mr Mir came at a time when the District Magistrate (DM), Shopian, Bashir Ahmad Bhat has extended the date for recording statement of witnesses in the firing incidents of September 7 and September 11 in which five people were killed.
Police had the day confirmed that the fourth unidentified person was a Laskher militant. However, a senior Congress leader and former minister Ghulam Hassan Khan contested the police claim and said the deceased was a non local labourer.
Later State police took up the matter with Bihar police to identify the deceased.
The killings rocked the valley and authorities had imposed curfew in Shopian which continued today also.
However, Mr Mirsaid every evidence has substantiated that fourth person was a Laskher militant which is a established fact.
He said this has not only been confirmed by sources of different agencies, but he was identified by a number of persons including a top Lashkar commander Fahadullah, who was arrested by security forces in April this year.
The IGP said the slain militant was part of a 10-member Lashkar squad which had migrated from Sopore in north Kashmir towards south Kashmir.
Mr Mir said all evidence, including mobile phone of the deceased confirmed it that he was Haroon.He said the mobile phone recovered from the scene of firing incident had DIALER and SKIPE applications. The DIALER and SKIPE, not Skype, are only used by Lashkar militants.
He said in the video there are weapons which were snatched from a policeman and a CRPF man from two different places in south Kashmir some time back.
Mr Mir said on September 7, four youths riding two motorcycles were asked to stop near Gagran camp. However, when first motorcycle was stopped then another motorcycle came, he said adding one rider took out a pistol and fired on security forces and in retaliation four persons were killed.
However, he confirmed that there is no militancy record against the three local youth killed but the relatives of two of the deceased were involved in militancy.
Mr Mir said one of the deceased brother was a militant who was killed in 2006 while another was killed when he was trying to cross the Line of Control in 1992 and third Tawseef was booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) because of stone pelting.
He said investigation is still going on. But the police chief in Kashmir said two others Yousuf and Tariq were not on an excursion with Haroon. (AGENCIES)
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