Two militants killed in India’s Kashmir
Investigators continue probe into Hurriyat’s ‘terror funding’
Srinagar, India - Two militants were killed on Sunday by the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, a defence official said in the state capital Srinagar.
Defence Ministry spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said, ‘two militants were killed in an ongoing security operation in Tahab village’ 30km south of Srinagar.
‘The militants were hiding inside a house and tried to break cordon. Two were killed outside the house’, The Hindu newspaper reported quoting a police official.
‘The militants have been identified as Abid Manzoor Magray of Nowpora and Irfan Sheikh of Nihar, Tahab. They belonged to Hizbul Mujahideen outfit’, the report said.
NIA questions man close to Geelani
As part of its crackdown on Kashmiri separatist leaders for their alleged involvement in funding terror activities, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) on Sunday questioned a Jammu activist and businessman, Devinder Singh Behal, who is considered close to Syed Ali Shah Geelani and is regularly seen at funerals of slain militants.
The NIA said it conducted searches at the Jammu residence and office of Behal, the Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Social Peace Forum (JKSPF). The JKSPF is a constituent of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference led by Geelani.
Four mobile phones, a tablet, some electronic devices, incriminating documents and financial documents were recovered during the search operations, an NIA statement said.
‘The questioning by NIA teams is going on’, it said.
The NIA claimed that Behal is a member of the legal cell of the Geelani-led Hurriyat. ‘ He is a close associate of a top Hurriyat leader and regularly attends funerals of militants’, it said.