Pulwama tense over killing of LeT commander

Police vehicle torched by mob; 33 injured in clash, firing, stampede

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Aug 4: Reminiscent of an identical incident in 2009, residents of Pulwama, in South Kashmir, today clashed with Police after the death of a Lashkar-e-Tayyiba commander in a fierce gunbattle and set ablaze a vehicle. Ten civilians and 23 Police personnel, including a Dy SP, have reportedly sustained injuries in the resultant firing and stampedes.

Informed sources in South Kashmir told Early Times that Police, CRPF 182 Bn and troops of Rashtriya Rifles 55 Bn launched a cordon-and-search operation at Khaar Mohalla of village Puchhal, in Pulwama district, in the wee hours on Wednesday. According to the source information, one or two militants of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba were hiding in the village at the house of PDP’s elected Sarpanch, Abdul Aziz Khan. Militants opened fire on the troops, triggering off a fierce gunbattle. Stand-off continued for nearly 24 hours.

When firing resumed in the morning today, hundreds of residents from nearby villages of Ratnipora and Trich advanced towards the site of the encounter in an attempt to protect a local militant holed up in the operation. Sources said that Police and CRPF resisted the advance of the crowds with baton charge and tearsmoke. Meanwhile, troops destroyed PDP Sarpanch’s house with heavy firing and IEDs. One militant was found dead. He was identified as Shakoor Ahmad Teli alias Saif alias Abu Bakr S/o Abdul Razaq Teli R/o Bagh-e-Trich, Pulwama. Officials described him as the “District Commander” of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.

While the operation was concluding with the death of the local militant, crowds shouted pro-Azadi and anti-India slogans. In the fierce clashes between the residents and the Police and security forces, as many as 23 Police personnel sustained injuries. Official sources said that Dy SP Headquarters and a local Chowki Officer were among the 23 injured. According to these sources, nine civilians sustained injuries in these clashes and later one more, reportedly a government employee, were injured during similar clashes at Trichh.

Violent crowds resorted to heavy stone pelting and Police/CRPF retaliated with heavy baton charge and tearsmoke. Ding dong clashes continued for over an hour.

Hundreds of residents later swooped on a Tata-407 of Pulwama District Police when it carried the dead body of the slain militants to his home at Trichh. Sources said that angry crowds engaged in violent clashes with Police and CRPF. They captured the Tata-407 after taking custody of the dead body and set it on fire. It suffered extensive damage. On this occasion, Police again opened fire. Two civilians, namely Farooq Ahmed Mir S/o Mohammad Kamal and Hilal Ahmed Lone S/o Mohammad Yousuf Lone, residents of Ratnipora, sustained injuries. Farooq Mir was immediately evacuated and rushed to Srinagar for medical treatment. Sources said that late tonight, he was recuperating at SKIMS. Those injured at Puchhal and Trichh included an elected Panch.

A Police spokesman said in today’s bulletin: “As soon the advance party was carrying out the search, it was fired upon which was retaliated, thus triggering an encounter. In the ensuing encounter, one militant Shakoor Ahmad Teli @ Saif @ Abu Bakar  self styled District Comdr, of the Lashkar-e-Toiba-(LeT) son of Abdul Razak resident of Bagh-e-Trich Pulwama got killed. The slain militant had been active since 2007 and was involved in a number of militancy related cases and in the killings of civilians- the latest of the incident being, firing on a civilian at Koil area.

“Soon after the operation concluded, some miscreants resorted to heavy stone pelting on Police and security forces deployments and also set ablaze a Police vechicle. In an effort to bring the situation back to normal, two persons, Abdul Rehman Dar son of Ali Mohammad Resident of Ratnipora Pulwama and Amir Ahmad Dar son of Ghulam Hassan resident of Lajoora-Pulwama  received injuries in their  left arm  and left thigh respectively, who  were shifted to Srinagar for further treatment”.

Though SP Pulwama, Amit Kumar, and DIG South Kashmir, Shafqat Watali, did not respond to phone calls, reports from Pulwama said that a suburban Pinglena area, comprising over a dozen villages, was tense with the presence and movement of heavy security bandobust. According to these reports, hundreds of residents participated in the funeral procession and Namaz-e-Janazah of the slain militant commander amid shouting of anti-India and pro-Azadi slogans.

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