Four Hizbul militants, soldier killed in Kashmir gun battle
PROTESTS Four people receive injuries in clashes between civilians and defence personnel SRINAGAR:
Four Hizbul Mujahideen militants and a soldier were killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian on Tuesday in an encounter that took place in the backdrop of militants abducting seven civilians in the district and killing two of them in a week.
The encounter took place after a joint team of the state police, army’s 34 Rashtriya Rifles and 23 Para Commandos launched a cordon and search operation in Shopian’s Nadimarg village in the early hours of Tuesday after receiving “specific inputs about militant presence” in the area, defence spokesman Rajesh Kalia said.
The search team was fired upon by the militants in hiding, triggering the gunbattle, police officials said. Police said the slain militants were residents of Kashmir. Senior superintendent of police Shopian Sandeep Choudhary said they were affiliated with the Hizbul Mujahideen militant group. The slain soldier was identified as Para Commando Lance Havaldar Vijay Kumar, a resident of Haryana. Two other security personnel were injured in the encounter, police said.
According to police, the slain militants were involved in attacks on security establishments. Of the seven civilians abducted by militant groups in Shopian over the past week, 18-year-old Nadeem Manzoor Dar and 19-year-old Huzaif Ashraf were killed on suspicion of being police informers while the others were eventually released. Purported videos of the killings were later circulated on social media.
Police said people took to the streets once news of the encounter spread, prompting defence personnel to use tear gas and pellets to disperse the crowd.
Four people were injured in the clashes between protesters and defence personnel, police officials said on condition of anonymity.
Internet services were suspended in Shopian and neighbouring Pulwama district as a precautionary measure to stop the protests from spreading, state administration officials said.
SECOND PHASE OF PANCHAYAT POLLS
An estimated 71.1% of voters exercised their franchise Tuesday in the second phase of panchayat elections in J&K which concluded peacefully amid tight security arrangements, officials said. “In the Phase-II of panchayat polls, overall 71.1%polling was witnessed across the state. An overwhelming 80.4% polling was witnessed in Jammu division and 52.2% in Kashmir division,” state chief electoral officer Shaleen Kabra said.
The polling concluded peacefully across 14 districts, seven each in Kashmir and Jammu divisions, at 2 pm, Kabra said.
Udhampur district in Jammu recorded the highest polling of 83.9%, while Anantnag district in south Kashmir recorded the lowest at 1% , he said.