Srinagar, August 20
Five militants, including a Hindu area commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, were killed in separate incident in Jammu and Kashmir, where ultras shot dead two village defence committee members and attached the houses of a former National Conference legislator and a ruling PDP leader since last night.
This was for the first time in the history of militancy in the state that a Hindu militant commander has been killed, a police spokesman said today.
The terrorist, Uttam Singh, had changed his name to Saifullah. He was killed in an encounter with the Army in the Gandoh area of Doda district.
With his killing, the reports of some Hindu boys having joined the terrorist outfits in Doda district have been confirmed.
In another encounter, Arshad Ahmed, who also belonged to the same outfit was also killed.
Uttam Singh, a resident of Bisran village of Gandoh, had reportedly snatched a .303 rifle, along with 50 rounds, from VDC members from his village in 2004 and joined the Hizbul Mujahideen.
He had been appointed area commander of Gandoh recently and was one of the seven Hindu militants active in the district. An AK assault rifle and two magazines were recovered from him.
Another hardcore Hizbul militant, Farooz Ahmad Khan, was killed in an encounter during search operations in the forests of Kullarnar in the Pahalgam area of Anantnag district this afternoon.
In different encounters, the security forces killed two militants at Thian-Kangan on the outskirts of Srinagar and Sogam in Kupwara district today, the spokesman said.
A group of about seven militants raided a hut at Bangar Dhar in Doda district last night and killed VDC members Bishroop and Bodh Raj, both residents of Neeju-Sarore in the Kishtwar area.
In another incident, heavily-armed militants fired two rifle grenades and resorted to firing on the house of former National Conference legislator Sheikh Mohammad Rafi, being guarded by the Jammu and Kashmir police and the CRPF at Kasdoora village in the Shopian area of Pulwama district last night.
The guards posted there fired in retaliation forcing the ultras to flee. No one was injured in the firing.
In another incident, the militants opened fire on the house of the ruling PDP block president Ghulam Hassan Rather at Sheeri in Baramula district last night.
The police guards posted there fired back but there was no casualty. Rather escaped unhurt along with his family.
