Delhi HC blast accused killed in Kishtwar

A wanted militant, also involved in Delhi high court blast, was shot dead by security forces in a gunfight in mountainous Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, police said.

A wanted militant, also involved in Delhi high court blast, was shot dead by security forces in a gunfight in mountainous Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, police said.

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According to a top police official, the security forces had a tip off about presence of a top militant in Qadrini area of Kishtwar, about 250 km north-east of Jammu.

"The army and police laid a joint ambush and killed a militant in a short gunfight. The militant has been identified as Shakir Hussain Sheikh alias Chota Hafiz allegedly involved in last year blast outside Delhi High Court," said the official.

The killed militant was one of the most wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for the September 2011 blast and carried a reward of Rs.20 lakh on his head.

The official said that Shakir's associate Amir Ali Kamal was poisoned by his associate Rizwan on August 6, 2012, while the third accused, Junaid Akram Malik, was reportedly killed in a group clash. He was active since 2002 in Marwah and Dachhan area of Kishtwar.