Three Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) terrorists and a civilian were killed during a night-long encounter between terrorists and security forces in north Kashmir’s Handwara while two guards manning a cash van were killed by suspected terrorists in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, official sources said.
Police said a joint team of Rashtriya Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force and counterinsurgency wing of J&K Police cordoned off Unisoo village in North Kashmir’s Handwara pocket late on Sunday evening following input on presence of militants in a residential house.
“The contact was established after terrorists resorted to heavy firing. During the exchange of fire three terrorists were killed who are all non-locals,” said a police official. A young woman Misra Banoo was also killed during the exchange of fire. Director General of Police Shesh Paul Vaid said the slain militants were “apparently Pakistanis”.
“All the three terrorists, apparently Pakistanis, were killed by joint team of J&K Police, RR & CRPF,” Vaid said in a tweet. “It has been raining whole night and boys were out there in the cold,” he tweeted.
The locals alleged that the young woman was killed by the security forces. Early in the morning, a large number of people began protests as they placed the body of the slain woman on road demanding magisterial enquiry. The protesters hurled stones on the security forces but were responded with tear gas shelling. Langate legislator Sheikh Rasheed also led a protest against the killing of lady.
The authorities snapped internet services in the area to restrict public movement towards the encounter site. “The identity of slain terrorists is being ascertained. Three AK rifles along with other ammunition were recovered from the encounter site. During the encounter, one lady got injured in the cross firing and unfortunately she succumbed to her injuries,” police said in a statement.
In another gruesome incident, unknown gunmen resorted to indiscriminate firing on a cash van belonging to Jammu and Kashmir Bank on Monday afternoon killing two security guards working with a private security firm.
Reports said that a bank van was attacked when it collected cash from the local branch of the bank and was on way to district headquarters of Pulwama bank. Gunmen waylaid the vehicle and opened indiscriminate fire on it. The driver of the vehicle lost control over the van and it turned turtle. Three private guards traveling with the cash were wounded in the firing. They were immediately rushed to Pulwama hospital where two of them succumbed to injuries.
Medical Superintendent Pulwama hospital Dr Abdul Rasheed Parra said that the guards were hit with bullets on every part of body. Even their mobile phones were hit by bullets, he said.
The slain guards have been identified as Bilal Ahmed, 25, of Tamlalhal Pulwama and Tariq Ahmed, 30, from Khanabal Anantnag.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti condemned the killing of two security guards. In a statement, the Chief Minister described the incident as highly unfortunate in which the officials guarding the public money were killed.
Mufti has also grieved over the death of a woman during a search operation in Handwara. She said she has been all along warning of the ill effects of violence and reiterated her appeal to civil society to rise to the occasion and make the future of youngsters safe and peaceful.
“These innocent guards were there only to protect the people’s money and such gruesome incidents create hardships for the general public and hinder us from serving the people of these areas well”, J&K Bank chairman Parvez Ahmad said in a statement.
During the past two years, cash-starved militants have intensified attacks on banks and conducted several robberies including looting cash vans and ATMs. Two bank guards and three policemen were killed in a similar incident in Anantnag district earlier this year. Last month, militants of Ansar Gazwatul Hind robbed cash amounting to Rs 1 lakh from a bank branch in Noorpora village of south Kashmir Tral sub-district.
Meanwhile, a police constable injured in accidental fire inside police station Kulgam last week succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.
Two cops were injured in an accidental fire when the service rifle of one of them went off accidentally.