The forces had intensified anti-terror operations in the Valley after the terror strike on Amarnath pilgrims. pti file photo
The encounter killing of Lashkar-e-Taiba's top operative Abu Dujana, one of the most wanted terrorists in India, comes as relief for the security establishment at a time the forces are fighting to end Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
This, security officials said, is one more success story in the anti-terror operations after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani last July. The forces had intensified anti-terror operations in the Valley after the terror strike on Amarnath pilgrims.
Dujana, a self-styled Divisional Commander of the LeT who also goes by the name Hafiz, was killed in the encounter in Pulwama district in South Kashmir from where he had managed to escape the security personnel in May this year after stone-pelting locals encountered the forces.
Reports suggested that he was located by the forces through technical surveillance and inputs that he may reach the spot to meet his wife.
Dujana, who is in his late 20s, was wanted for his role in the Udhampur attack in which two BSF personnel were killed. Mohd Naved, a Pakistani youth who was captured by forces, allegedly had taken the name of Dujana as the mastermind.
Officials said Dujana was also known as an expert in launching grenade attacks. He also said to be the brain behind the bank robberies in the valley and used it for funding terror activities. He had replaced Abu Qasim, who was killed last year, as the main face of LeT in the Valley.
One who carried a reward of Rs 30 lakh on his head, he was five times lucky as he managed to give a slip to the security forces in Kashmir since he infiltrated into Kashmir in 2010.
Dujana, who hails from Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and joined LeT at the age of 17, had made his first appearance, that too in a dramatic way, in a funeral of a local Lashkar terrorist in 2014 in Pulwama. He had also later attended the funeral of Wani in Tral.
Officials said he has been behind the brain behind several terror strikes in the Valley. One of his close associates Abu Ismail, who may succeed him, had orchestrated the Amarnath terror strike, they said.
During the operations, the forces had to face stone-pelting crowd in the area, indicating that the locals still harbour anger against the forces. Kashmir has been witnessing stone-pelting incidents during anti-terror operations following which the forces have warned them that they would be forced use extreme measures to deal with them.