Srinagar:A top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and a soldier were killed while a jawan was injured in a fierce encounter which ensued during a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) in south Kashmir district of Pulwama in the wee hours on Wednesday, official sources said.
Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh said it was major success as HM commander Azad Lalhari, a resident of Lalhara Kakpora in Pulwama, was involved in several militancy related incidents in south Kashmir.
A defence ministry spokesman Col Rajdesh Kalia said that on a tip off about the presence of militants at Kamrazipora in Pulwama, troops of Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police and CRPF, launched a joint CASO late on Tuesday evening.
However, when all the exit points were sealed and house-to-house searches launched, militants hiding there opened indiscriminate firing with automatic weapons in which a soldier was injured. The injured soldier was shifted to hospital where he died.
Additional security forces were deployed in the nearby areas to foil any attempt by militants to escape under the cover of darkness.
With the first light this morning when security forces launched an all out offensive, militants again opened fire, they said adding in the return fire an unidentified militant was killed. His body was recovered from nearby orchards and one Ak rifles, grenades, pouch and other war-like stores were recovered.
Col Kalia said a soldier also laid down his life in the line of duty. Another soldier was injured who has been admitted to 92 Base hospital.
DGP Singh said Lalhari was involved in the killing of police Head Constable (HC) Anoop Singh (22) on May 22, 2020 at Prichu Pulwahma when he fired at a Naka party,
He said six FIRs were registered against him for militant-related killings. He said earlier Lalhari was detained under Public Safety Act ( PSA) as Over Ground Worker (OGW) and later became active militant. A charge sheet had been filed against him in two cases earlier in a court.(UNI)
