Lashkar militant shot dead in Kashmir

In a major operation, Jammu and Kashmir Police yesterday gunned down a top Lashkar-e-Taiba militant who was responsible for attacking a leading apple trader’s family in which a girl child had also been injured. Some policemen were also injured in the exchange of fire.

Asif Maqbool Bhat was killed in a brief shootout with the police and security forces in Sopore around 9 am.

“When we intercepted Bhat today [Wednesday], he attacked us. He threw a grenade at us. A few police personnel were injured but they are out of danger. In the ensuing encounter, the militant was neutralised,” Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said in a press briefing.

He said Bhat had attacked the family of Haji Hamidullah Rather, a prominent fruit grower of Sopore and a resident of Dangerpora area, on September 8.

“The militant fired at the family members of Rather, injuring four of them including a girl aged between four and seven years. The girl is admitted here in a hospital.”

The girl was Rather’s daughter Asma. Bhat, and his associates, had also shot and injured a migrant labourer, identified as Shafi Alam, the same day, the DGP added.

Bhat was also responsible for making use of over ground workers (OGWs) to print and publish posters threatening people to stay away from the fruit business, not to open shops and refrain from normal day-today activities, he said.

The DGP said that Bhat, along with two other fellow militants Sajjad and Mudassar, was very active in the area over the last one month and had created a lot of terror.

On a specific input, police, along with other security forces, laid checkpoints close to Sopore town, the DGP said, adding Bhat was challenged to stop when he came.

“Bhat, however, did not stop and threw a grenade on our party in which couple of our police personnel were injured but they are out of danger. He was later neutralised in the encounter.