Two teenagers injured in Pulwama encounter; 2 militants trapped

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
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SRINAGAR, Oct 13: Two local militants of Hizbul Mujahideen are believed to be trapped in an encounter in Bijbehara area of South Kashmir even as one of them got critically injured and two civilian teenagers sustained gunshot wounds in the beginning of the operation by Police and security forces.

Informed sources told STATE TIMES that Special Operations Group of Awantipora District Police and troops of Rashtriya Rifles 55 Battalion launched a cordon-and-search operation at Dogripora, near Sangham, in Pulwama district in the evening after receiving a tip off about the presence of two militants at a hideout. In the very beginning of the operation, fierce exchange of gunfire took place between the security forces and the holed up militants who made sustained attempts to escape.

During the encounter, 13-year-old Iqra Jan and 17-year-old Owais Ahmad Dar got hit. They were quickly evacuated and rushed to Sub District Hospital of Bijbehara. On examination, doctors found them stable but referred them to SMHS Hospital of Srinagar for better medical treatment.

Large number of the residents, including women and children, gathered and engaged the Police and security forces in ding-dong clashes. Exchange of brickbats and baton charge between the residents and the security forces for some time marred the beginning of the operation.

Sources said that the fresh Hizbul Mujahideen entrants Lateef Ahmad Dar s/o Ghulam Hassan Dar of Dogripora and Adnan of Brah Bandna were believed to have got trapped. However, some of the residents insisted that one of the holed up militants could be Ashfaq Ahmad Dar of the same village. A pool of blood around the hideout was an indication that one of the militants had got critically injured.

Deputy Inspector General of Police in South Kashmir, Nitish Kumar, confirmed that one of the holed up militants was believed to be critically injured as there was a pool of blood around the hideout. He said that a tight siege had been laid to the village, denying the holed up militants any chance to break the cordon.

DIG told STATE TIMES that Adnan of Brah Bandna and Lateef Ahmad Dar of Dogripora were believed to be trapped. He said firing had subsided from either side but that was essentially no indication to establesh that the holed up militants had escaped or died. "We will resume the search operation in the morning as Dogripora would remain under tight cordon for the whole night", DIG said.

An unconfirmed report said that Army also pressed into aerial surveillance one unmanned aerial vehicle to track the movement of the holed up militants.

Meanwhile, late night reports said that three civilians were injured in CRPF shootout near Awantipora.

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