IPS officer’s brother among three ultras killed in J&K

Three local militants, including the brother of an IPS officer, were killed in an ongoing encounter with security forces in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Tuesday, a day after three ultras were slain in a similar gunfight in central Budgam district.

One army soldier has also sustained injuries during the gunfight which broke out early morning after a joint party of the army and J&K police launched a cordon-and-search-operation in Shirmal village of Shopian, 52 kms from here, following inputs about the presence of militants in the area, reports said.

As the security forces were conducting searches they were fired and in the retaliatory action three militants were killed, a source said. The bodies of the slain were recovered along with as many weapons and other arms and ammunition, they said.

The security forces blasted the hideout, the sources said and added four militants were trapped and one of them reportedly managed to flee. However, there was no official confirmation so far.

A police official while confirming the killing of three militants in the incident refused to comment about the escapade of the fourth militant, saying the operation is still underway.

Sources identified one of the slain militants as Shamsul Haq Mengnoo, a resident of Draggud village of Shopian district. Haq was pursuing Bachelors of Unani Medicine and Surgery (BUMS) at a government college when he joined militancy last year. His elder brother Inamul Haq is 2012 IPS batch officer who is posted in North East. The identity of the two other militants was being ascertained, sources added.

Regarding identification of Shamsul Haq, the officer said it was being ascertained even as inputs suggested his presence when the operation was launched.

Reports said massive clashes erupted after the residents came out of their houses and tried to march towards the site of the gunfight. The residents pelted the forces with stones who responded by firing tear gas.

The latest encounter comes a day after three local militants belonging to Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Hapatnar village of Budgam.

There has been a spurt in encounters between security forces and militants in the last months. Last year over 250 militants were killed by the security forces which included Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) scholar-turned-militant commander Manan Wani and Sabzar Ahmad Sofi, who had an M. Phil and had qualified National Eligibility Test (NET).