SI, top militant killed in gunfight

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 17

A police officer of the elite counter-insurgency unit and a militant commander were killed in a militant attack on the outskirts of Srinagar on Friday afternoon.

Sub-Inspector of J&K Police Imran Tak, 31, a resident of Udhampur, was killed in a shootout at Zakura, some 15 km from the city centre, at around 4 pm. Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Munir Khan, said a police party had gone for an operation where a shootout took place.

“It is not that the police party was attacked. They had gone for an operation and there was a shootout between militants and the SOG (Special Operation Group) party, in which Sub-Inspector and an Special Police Officer was injured. The Sub-Inspector was taken to hospital, but unfortunately he succumbed to his injuries,” Khan said. The IGP blamed Lashkar-e-Toiba for the attack.

A militant commader, Mugais, of Parimpora, was also killed and his associate Tauseef was arrested in the gunfight, the police said.

“In the gunfight, Mugais of Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen was wounded, but he escaped from the encounter site. He later succumbed to his injuries,” a police officer said. Police said Mugais had earlier this year joined Zakir Musa-led Ansar Ghazwatul Hind, affiliated to Al-Qaida.

Sources, however, said a police party of the SOG had set up a check-point at Zakura as they had input about movement of militants in the area.

“As a Santro car with Srinagar registration number reached the check-post, the militants believed to be two in number fired indiscriminately from inside the car wounding two policemen including, the Sub-Inspector. The militants fled from the spot and left behind the car,” the sources said. “One suspected militant Tauseef who was inside the car was arrested by the police.”

Soon after the incident, police and CRPF launched a massive hunt to trace the militants involved in the attack.

Meanwhile, a wreath-laying ceremony was held in Srinagar to pay tributes to the slain police officer.