Ishfaq Tantry

 LeT men killed 3 Baramulla youths: Police Say Pakistan handlers wanted arrested militants to spread terror in north Kashmir   The arrested Lashkar militants presented before the media in Baramulla

The police on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of Lashkar-e-Toiba militants allegedly involved in the killing of three youths in Baramulla on April 30.

It said the militant outfit in Pakistan had given clear instructions to its module to “create an atmosphere of terror” in north Kashmir by “eliminating as many civilians as possible”.

Confirming that four militants and six overground workers (OGWs) had been arrested during raids in Baramulla district over a period of time, the security agencies said the Lashkar was behind the majority of the recent civilian killings in north Kashmir comprising the districts of Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora. The arrest of the militants was reported by The Tribune yesterday but the police had not confirmed it.

“During interrogation of the militants it surfaced that the LeT handlers in Pakistan had given clear instructions to them to create an atmosphere of terror in north Kashmir by eliminating as many civilians as possible,” said a written statement circulated during the press conference that was addressed by DIG, North Kashmir Range, CRPF DIG, North Kashmir, and representatives of the Army in Baramulla today while presenting the nabbed militants and the OGWs before the media along with the seized weapons and ammunition.

“This also explains that the killings that took place in other parts of north Kashmir — Hajin and Sopore — were undertaken by the Lashkar-e-Toiba,” they said.

The operation to nab the militants and their overground supporters was launched by the Baramulla police in coordination with the Army and the CRPF following the killing of three youths in Baramulla on April 30.

“After the questioning of the terrorists, the involvement of LeT was established in the commission of the heinous crime of the killing of the three innocent civilians. During investigation, it surfaced that Suhaib Farooq Akhoon, Ajaz Ahmad Gojri and Bilal Ahmad Najar were involved in the killing,” read the statement.

The three youths killed by these militants were identified as Haseeb Nabi Khan, Irfan Ahmad sheikh and Mohammad Asghar Sheikh, all hailing from Baramulla town.

“Out of the three civilians killed, names of two had also figured in a threatening video issued by the Lashkar in 2016 from old town Baramulla during the unrest,” said Baramulla SSP Imtiyaz Hussais, who was also present at the press conference.

The police have recovered two AK-47 rifles, two pistols, four hand grenades, 50 AK rounds, 4 AK magazines and two pistol magazines besides other items during the raids carried out in Baramulla and Sopore since April 30.

According to the statement, two of the militants alleged to be involved the killing of three youths had joined militancy in October-November 2017, while as the third one joined after the three boys were murdered on April 30, 2018.

Courtesy: Tribune News Service: May 10, 2018