17- yr- old, 2 militants killed in J& K gunfight
Fighting broke out in Shopian’s Chaigund village after the security forces laid siege to it on learning about the presence of militants
Two militants and a local teenager were killed and two girls critically injured during a gunfight raging in a remote village of Jammu and Kashmir’s southern Shopian district since Wednesday afternoon.
The officials said that fighting broke out in Shopian’s Chaigund village after the security forces laid siege to it on learning about the presence of militants. “The militants holed up in a private house opened fire at the joint search party triggering encounter,” said a police spokesman.
J& K’s Director General of Police, Shesh Paul Vaid announced the killing of two militants and the teenage boy on social media. He wrote on microblogging site Twitter. com “In an encounter today at Saigund ( Chaigund) Shopian, two terrorists have been neutralised and weapons have been recovered. Unfortunately, one boy was also killed in the crossfire and two ladies sustained injuries. Search is still going on”.
While the encounter was underway, local youth took to the streets to chant pro- freedom slogans apparently to encourage the holed up militants.
They also allegedly hurled stones at the security forces, prompting the latter to use force to disperse them. The police said that the civilian casualties occurred during crossfire between the militants and the security forces.
But locals have alleged that security forces fired live ammunition into protesting crowds “merely because of their chanting slogans”.
The slain youth has been identified as 17- year- old Shakir Ahmed Mir.
Separatist leader and Kashmir’s chief Muslim cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a tweet alleged that the security forces fired indiscriminately on protesters. Blood of # Kashmir’s youth being spilled mercilessly and with impunity! 17 year old Shakir Ahmed # ShotDead as Indian troops fire indiscriminately on protestors at Chaigund Shopian, 2 girls with bullet injuries on their head.”