LeT militant killed in Shopian encounter
Three militant associates held in Kulgam
Srinagar: A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant was gunned down by security forces in an encounter in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Friday, police said.
A cordon-and-search operation was launched at Rakhama village in the district in the morning following information about the presence of militants in the area, a police spokesperson said.
“During the search operation, as the presence of the militant was ascertained, he was given an opportunity to surrender. He instead fired indiscriminately upon the joint search party, which was retaliated, leading to an encounter,” he said.
In the ensuing gunfight, the militant, identified as Mujeeb Lone of Redwani Bala Kulgam, was killed, and his body was retrieved from the site of the encounter, the spokesman said.
As per police records, he had joined the terror fold recently and was linked with proscribed terror outfit LeT, he said.
“He (Lone) was responsible for creating terror among the locals and had been coercing innocent citizens to sympathise with anti-national elements,” the official added.
The spokesperson said incriminating materials and arms and ammunition, including a pistol and a magazine, were recovered.
All the retrieved materials have been taken into case records for further investigation and to probe their complicity in other terror crimes, he said.
Meanwhile, security forces arrested three over ground workers of Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit from Kulgam district of south Kashmir, police said.
The arrested persons were identified as Abid Mushtaq, Aadil Jamal Bhat and Danish Rasool Bhat, all residents of Tral area in Pulwama district, an official said.
Security forces, during checking at a vehicle checkpoint at Mir Bazar in Kulgam, apprehended the three associates of LeT, who were travelling in a car and on a motorcycle, he said.
Four hand grenades, four detonators, one IED, one IED wire, one AK-47 short rifle, one magazine and 30 pistol rounds were recovered from their possession, he added.
Press Trust of India
