Police asks Pakistan to reclaim bodies of slain militants
Srinagar: After three militants and a soldier were killed in a gunfight in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police today said that it will ask Pakistan to take the bodies of its citizen home as they belong to them.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir said they will ask Pakistan to collect the body of Masood Azhar’s nephew killed in a gunfight with government forces in Aglar village of Pulwama last night.
According to the police, following credible leads police along with 44 RR and 182/183 CRPF conducted an operation in Aglar Kandi area in Rajpora in which “three JeM militants, two foreign and one local including the Divisional Commander for the South Kashmir Mehmood, were killed. The local militant is known as Waseem Ganaie of Pulwama who joined militancy recently.”
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir said Jaish-e-Muhammad has owned Talha Rasheed. “We will ask them to collect the body because they owned it,” said Khan.
“The matter will be taken up through proper channels,” he said.
Talha Rasheed, nephew of Jaish-e-Muhammad chief Masood Azhar, was among three militants killed in a gunfight with government forces in Pulwama district of south Kashmir last night, reports said.
A local news gathering agency quoting from a Jaish-e-Muhammad statement, said that Rasheed and two other militants, including Divisional Commander Muhammad Bhai and Waseem Bhai of Drubgam Pulwama, were killed in the firefight in Aglar Kandi village.
“Hassan Shah, the JeM spokesman, identified Masood Azhar’s nephew as Commander Talha Rasheed,” said the report.
Paying tributes to the slain militants, the spokesman said that their “sacrifices won’t go waste. One day, forces have to leave Kashmir.”
Meanwhile, police said that a soldier was also killed and a civilian injured in the gunfight that erupted when the cordon was being laid.
“When the cordon was being laid militants opened fire in which one army jawan identified as Ct Shamsunder of 44 RR and a civilian identified as Tariq Ahmad Dar resident of Aglar Kandi got injured”.
Police said that from the encounter site three weapons which include one AK 47 Draco rifle, one M4 carbine colt rifle and one pistol besides ammunition were recovered.
“It is pertinent to mention that this M4 carbine colt rifle hogged the headlines when a photo of a militant carrying the rifle went viral. Further, it is the same group that was wanted for the attack on the police naka a couple of days before at police station Rajpora, where police official SgCt Abdul Salam has was killed,” police said. Police further stated that the investigation of the case is in progress.
Meanwhile, two residential houses and a cow shed were destroyed in the fire during the gunfight.
KV Correspondent
