Mir Ehsan   

Two terrorists and a civilian were killed at Kundallan village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Tuesday in a firefight between militants and security forces that allegedly turned into an altercation involving locals, the state police said.

Waseem Andrabi/htn Kashmiri villagers grieve as they watch the funeral procession of Tamsheel Ahmad Khan, a Class 11 student, who was killed allegedly in clashes at Vehil village in Shopian district Tuesday.

According to the police, the civilian was killed and scores others were injured when force was used to disperse people who were trying to break the security cordon to help the militants escape.

A police statement said the firefight was triggered after the army’s counter-insurgency wing, Rashtriya Rifles, and Jammu and Kashmir police’s Special Operation Group launched an operation in Kundallan following a tipoff on the presence of militants, who “fired” on the forces during the searches, forcing retaliation.

SP Vaid, the state police chief, said bodies of two militants were recovered. “They were from the Jaish-e-Mohammed group.”

The police statement said that civilians trapped in nearby houses were evacuated before the full-fledged operation was launched. “After civilians were evacuated, two militants were killed. They were identified as Sameer Ahmad Sheikh, a local, and Babar, from Pakistan,’’ the statement said. It added that Babar was designated as a commander and was involved in attacks on the security forces.

The statement said Sheikh, a school dropout, was from Shopian’s Rawalpora and had joined the JeM group in April.

Bullets and pellets were used to disperse the protesters as they tried to break the cordon, a police officer said on the condition of anonymity. One of the injured, Tamsheel Ahmad Khan, a resident of Vehil village, died on his way to a Srinagar hospital.

Residents alleged that targeted fire killed Khan, a Class 11 student, who is survived by his parents and two siblings. “He had a bullet injury to his head,’’ said Khan’s neighbour, Abdul Rashid. Protests erupted at Vehil when Khan’s body was sent back for burial, which was carried out amid pro-freedom slogans.

Shopian’s chief medical officer Abdul Rashid said they received 123 injured people at different hospitals and health centres from the firefight scene. “Six injured have bullet while the rest have pellet and other injuries. Among the injured, 17 have suffered pellet injuries to their eyes.’’

Muhammad Ishaq Naikoo, the father of Zeenat-ul-Islam Naikoo who has recently joined the militant ranks in Shopian, died of a heart attack amid rumours that his son was among the militants holed up in Kundallan.

Eight civilians have been killed either close to the gunfight scenes or in the Army’s firing since governor’s rule was imposed after the BJP withdrew its support to Peoples Democratic Party-led government last month. Three civilians, including a 16-year-old girl, were killed and two others were injured in Kulgam district on Saturday when the army fired on alleged stonethrowing protesters.

Governor NN Vohra had asked army and the police officers to adhere to the standard operating procedures to avoid civilian killings after the three were killed.

Mir Ehsan letters@hindustantimes.com n

Courtesy: Hindustan Times: 11 Jul 2018