3 militants who killed J&K cop gunned down
SRINAGAR: Three Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants responsible for a police constable’s torture and murder in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district a day earlier were killed in a firefight with security forces on Sunday, police said.
Police identified the three as Muawiya, Suhail Ahmad Dar and Mudassar alias Rehaan. Muawiya was from Pakistan, while the rest were local residents, they said.
A police statement said Mauwiya’s involvement had been established in a number of civilian killings while Suhail, a labourer, had joined militant ranks after dropping out of school.
It called the three the “prime accused” in constable Mohammad Saleem Shah’s abduction and murder and added they were cornered due to “concerted efforts of the security forces”.
“Police probe is on for ascertaining complicity of the other co-conspirators who assisted in the commission of the gruesome crime leading to the death of police person Saleem Shah,” the statement said.
Police said the three were part of a joint LeT and HM group formed to kill constable Shah. They did not specify their individual affliations. The statement said the firefight was triggered after the Army, Jammu and Kashmir police, and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) laid a siege around the area where the three were holed up. It added the three fired on the security forces first and were killed in the retaliatory fire.
Residents said a few militants showed up in Kulgam’s Redwani and fired some shots in the air at the slain local militants’ funeral.
Authorities suspended mobile internet services in Kulgam and neighbouring Anantnag district as a precautionary measure.
Jammu and Kashmir police chief Shesh Paul Vaid said three weapons were recovered at the firefight site in Khudwani village.
“Terrorist group that tortured our colleague CT (constable) Mohd Saleem (Shah) of Kulgam & killed him brutally are all trapped in an encounter with J&K (Jammu and Kashmir) Police/ Army/CRPF (Central Reserve Paramilitary Force) in Khudwani Kulgam,” Vaid tweeted earlier in the day.