2 terrorists killed in encounter in J&K Kulgam

The gun fight between the forces and the terrorists started on Monday night, when a search operation was started in the Redwani Payeen area of Kulgam district, and concluded on Tuesday afternoon

A terrorist commander of The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT), was among the two terrorists killed in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Tuesday.

The IGP said that the search operation was still continuing. (ANI)

The gun fight between the forces and the terrorists started on Monday night, when a search operation was started in the Redwani Payeen area of Kulgam district, and concluded on Tuesday afternoon.

“In this operation two terrorists were neutralised. One was identified as Basit Dar who belongs to TRF – an A-category terrorist,” said inspector general of police VK Birdi.

The IGP did not identify the other slain man.

The killing of Dar, who was in his early 20s, was a “significant achievement” for security forces. “He was involved in more than 18 cases including killings of police, innocent civilians and planning of attacks on minorities,” Birdi said.

Last year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had announced a cash reward of ₹10 lakh on Basit Dar in a case of civilian killing. The NIA court-Kulgam, had issued a non-bailable warrant against him as he was accused of killing two non-local labourers in Kulgam in 2021.

“He has been active since 2021 and has been involved in cases in Srinagar as well,” Birdi said.

While sharing details, the IGP said the police and army had received information regarding the terrorist movement in the area on Monday.

“After that, police along with army and CRPF cordoned the area and when the cordon was being established, the terrorists opened fire from inside (the structure) triggering the encounter. The operation continued throughout the night and was concluded in the afternoon today,” he said.

He added the bodies of the two terrorists have been retrieved from the encounter site, while locals said the house caught fire during the operation.

The IGP said that the search operation was still continuing. “Many times there are explosives left behind in the debris…We are at the concluding stage of the operation and have to be cautious while clearing the debris,” he said.

Birdi said the terrorists were given the opportunity, with due diligence and as per law, to surrender. “However they did not heed to the call and they continued firing on security forces,” he said.

Talking about whether there were any attempts to hamper the on-going election process, the IGP said: “There have always been such attempts of anti-national elements or terrorists but the police and other security forces are alert and any such attempts will be handled perfectly.”