Soldier among 3 killed in Valley

Majid Jahangir & Suhail A Shah

Tribune reporters

Srinagar/Anantnag, August 17

Militants unleashed a fresh wave of violence on Friday, leaving a soldier, woman and an elderly man dead and three others injured across the Valley.

The day began with the killing of a soldier in a gunfight in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district in the wee hours.

The gunfight erupted at Kralgund in Handwara, some 90 km from Srinagar, when joint teams of the police, Army and CRPF launched a cordon and search operation after inputs about militant presence.

“As the searches were being carried out, militants hiding in the area opened fire on the forces, critically wounding a soldier,” the police said. “The soldier was shifted to the Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar, where he succumbed.”

The Srinagar-based defence spokesman identified the slain soldier as Rifleman Ram Babu Shahi, 25, a resident of Chitwan in Nepal.

Sources said militants managed to escape after the shooting. A massive combing operation was later launched to trace the militants.

A brief gunfight also broke out at Mir Mohalla in Bandipora district during a cordon and search operation. However, again the militants managed to give the security forces the slip. During the CASO, clashes broke out between the protesters and the forces.

On Friday afternoon, a woman was shot dead in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

A police officer from Pulwama said 38-year-old Shameema Akhtar of Koil village was shot dead in Drubgam village. The incident, according to the police, took place about 1 pm today.

“The woman was visiting her parents in Drubgam. She was shot just outside her parent’s house,” the officer said. “Preliminary reports suggest that the Hizbul Mujahideen was behind the killing.”

Not more than 15 minutes after the woman was shot dead, a 70-year-old civilian was killed and three others were injured in a grenade attack in the Awantipora area of Pulwama district .

“The grenade, aimed at the SSP office, fell on the roadside where it exploded leaving four civilians injured,” a police official said. “One of the injured, Abdul Ahad (70), later succumbed to his injuries.”

Army to have helipads on all forward posts

Jammu: At a time when the Pakistani army is becoming unpredictable on the Line of Control (LoC) and resorting to unprovoked ceasefire violations, the Indian Army is improving its communication lines to remain prepared for any eventuality. Efforts are being made to connect all forward posts on the LoC by road to make them accessible at any time. Sources said that during a meeting of officers, Northern Command chief Lt Gen Ranbir Singh said: “We are trying to construct helipads at every forward post so that if there is any need, our soldiers can be brought down immediately through helicopters,” he said. The Army has also updated the communication system in forward areas. Apart from mobile connectivity, three more communication lines have been set up so that soldiers remain connected with their headquarters. TNS