J&K DGP SP Vaid said, “He (Ayub Lelhari) was one of the most wanted terrorists. It’s a great success for the forces.” (Express Photo By Shuaib Masoodi)
The Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) district commander of Pulwama was killed on Wednesday in an encounter with a joint team of the Army, police and paramilitary forces in south Kashmir. The joint team intercepted the car carrying Mohammad Ayub Lone, the Lashkar commander. Police officers said the militant, also known as Ayub Lelhari, fired at the forces and was killed after a brief encounter.
Jammu and Kashmir police chief S P Vaid hailed the force for shooting dead Ayub. “Ayub Lelhari, district commander of LeT, eliminated in Pulwama. Well done boys!” Vaid tweeted.
Police said they had information about Ayub’s movements. “We had… set up a barricade at Banderpora village,” Senior Superintendent of Police, Pulwama, Mohammad Aslam Choudhary told The Indian Express. “He was travelling in a Tavera cab. When intercepted, he fired at us. In the exchange of fire, he was killed,” the officer said.
Police said they had arrested the driver of the car but another person accompanying Ayub escaped. “We found an AK-47 rifle in his (Ayub’s) possession,” the officer said.
Police sources said Ayub was recently injured in an encounter with the police and paramilitary forces in Samboora village of Pulwama. They said a bullet hit him in the shoulder.
Ayub was a driver and an active over-ground worker (OGW) for militants before he joined the Lashkar two years ago. “He would drive a Sumo car and often ferry militants from one place to another,” said a police source. “When one of his associates surrendered before the police and exposed his role, Ayub had no option but to formally join the militants,” the source said.
