Three LeT militants, ASI killed in J&K encounter
Srinagar: Three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants and an assistant sub-inspector of Jammu and Kashmir Police were killed in a gunfight in the outskirts of the city here on Sunday, police said.
Militants fired on a joint 'naka' of police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Pantha Chowk area late on Saturday night, a police official said. The joint parties of the forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation there, he said. During the searches in the area, the militants again fired on the search party of the forces who retaliated, leading to an encounter, the official said.
A tight cordon was maintained throughout the night and the firing resumed this morning, he said, adding that three militants were killed in the gunfight.
An assistant sub-inspector of Jammu and Kashmir Police, Babu Ram, was also killed in the operation, the official added. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the wreath-laying ceremony of the slain ASI, director general of Jammu and Kashmir Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh said the three militants came on a bike and fired at the joint party of the security forces.
After firing upon the forces, they (militants) tried to snatch weapons, but it was foiled by the alert troops, forcing the militants to flee. They left behind their bike. The forces chased the militants who took shelter in a nearby area known as Dhobi Mohalla, Pantha Chowk, he said.
The DGP said security forces acted swiftly and cordoned off the area till senior officers of police and the CRPF joined them to supervise the operation.
The operation lasted the entire night. In the initial exchange, one militant was killed and we lost a brave ASI Babu Ram. He was well-trained and an experienced counter-insurgency cop. As the operation progressed, we killed two more militants, he said.
Singh said the three slain militants belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba and one of them was a commander active since more than a year. "He was involved in several terror crimes. Our forces have not only averted an incident, but also had a successful operation, he said.
