Toll rises to six in Kashmir shootout

SRINAGAR: Two more bodies — including that of a militant — were found near the site of a controversial shootout in South Kashmir’s Shopian district on Monday, taking the death toll to six and forcing the army to change their previous statement on the incident.

The body of Lashkar-e-taiba (LET) militant Ashiq Hussain Bhat — hailing from Rakh Kapran — was recovered from an orchard at Saidpora, eight km from the site of Sunday’s encounter at Pahnoo in Shopian. The bullet-riddled body of another person — Gowhar Ahmad Lone of Chitragam — was found in a damaged car a few hundred metres away from the site.

A militant and three youngsters were killed on Sunday evening, after a mobile army check post near Pahnoo came under fire from two speeding vehicles. The army’s statement on Monday said the vehicles continued to move even when signalled to stop. “At this point... heavy firing came from both the vehicles. Our troops retaliated in self defence,” he said, adding that a militant firing from one of the vehicles fell after being hit – making it veer off the road. The second vehicle, he said, sped away.

“The body of a terrorist – identified as Amir Ahmad Malik from the first vehicle – was later found during a search... Three more people accompanying the terrorist also died,” the army spokesperson said.

However, the spokesperson had not mentioned the second vehicle in a statement issued on Sunday. He termed the three dead people in the car as the militant’s accomplices, and wrongly identified Malik as Shahid Ahmad Dar – a resident of Jamnagri in Shopian district.