E-Paper
Hizb IED expert killed in Doda encounter, army jawan martyred
A soldier of 10 RR was martyred in the five-hour encounter in the Gundana area of the district
An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) expert of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen was killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda on Sunday.
However, a soldier of 10 RR was martyred in the five-hour encounter in the Gundana area of the district.
Following the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen’s operational chief of J&K, Riyaz Naikoo, the terror outfit received a major jolt as security forces gunned down its IED expert on Sunday.
Doda district police chief, Mumtaz Ahmad, however, didn’t confirm the elimination of another terrorist, he said, “We suspect two terrorists have been killed but cannot confirm till entire debris is removed.”
Acting on a specific input about the presence of a top Hizb commander Tahir Ahmed Bhat in Doda, the security forces launched an operation. A cordon was laid and as the security forces zeroed in on the built-up area where terrorists were hiding, the terrorists fired upon them triggering the encounter, said inspector general of police Mukesh Singh.
In the encounter that followed, Tahir Ahmed Bhat was killed and an AK 47 rifle and magazine were recovered.
Tahir Ahmed Bhat joined the terror outfit early last year. “His name had figured in the fabrication of IED which exploded near a CRPF convoy at Banihal in March 2019. He had subsequently visited Chenab Valley and was given the task of recruiting youth and reviving Hizb activities in the Chenab valley,” the IGP added.
He was also part of a group of Hizb terrorists who killed RSS activist Chanderkant Sharma and his PSO in April 2019.
The same AK 47 rifle which was taken away that time has been recovered after the encounter today, said the IGP.
“With this operation, an attempt of the terror outfit to revive activities in Doda has been nipped. The designs of the Hizb to target security forces convoy and camps have also been thwarted. Tahir Bhat was a close associate of the present operational commander of Saifullah alias Dr Saif and was assigned the task of ‘revival of terrorism’ in Chenab Valley comprising Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts by recruiting more youth from there,” said the IGP.
Chenab valley was declared militancy free in the late 1990s.
The slain terrorist was directed by his mentors to target security forces and carry out some sensitive and sensational attacks in Chenab Valley to create insecurity among the people and to disturb the peaceful atmosphere. He was complicit in several terror crimes including attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities.
Singh said that his killing will create a huge deterrence to the revival of militancy in Chenab Valley.
A day after Hizb chief Riyaz Naikoo was killed in Kashmir, security forces on May 7 arrested an overground worker of the outfit from Doda district.
He was identified as Raqib Alam, 22, son of Seeraj Din, a resident of Swanda village.
There has been a spurt in terror activities across J&K amid Covid 19 pandemic.
Jammu region’s Doda area comprising Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts, which have been declared militancy free, have also witnessed terror attacks and related activities amid the lockdown.
Security forces on April 17 eliminated two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists, who had hacked a special police officer (SPO) to death with an axe and critically injured another on April 13 in Dachhan area of Kishtwar district.
The National Investigation Agency on Friday filed a chargesheet against six people, including three slain Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorists and three arrested overground workers of the terror group for providing support to Pakistan-based terrorists to kill BJP leader Anil Parihar and his brother Ajeet Parihar in Jammu’s Kishtwar.
The chargesheet has been filed in the special NIA Court, Jammu against the six accused.
