Srinagar:A CRPF trooper was injured in an ongoing encounter between security forces and militants in the Khanyar locality of Srinagar on Saturday, the first gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital after two and a half years.
The encounter began after security forces launched a cordon and search operation following inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area, a police spokesperson said.
"After receiving credible inputs about terrorist activity in the area, a joint team of police and other security agencies initiated a thorough search," the spokesperson added.
As the joint team approached the suspected area, the hiding militants fired upon the joint party, leading to an encounter. According to local inputs, intermittent exchange of fire was going on in the area. Visuals showed a large posse of security forces cordoning off the place even as sounds of gunfire reverberated through the area. The injured CRPF jawan was evacuated to a hospital in the city, a police official said.
Encounter in Srinagar after a gap of two and a half years
Saturday's encounter in Khanyar marks the first such gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital in two years and six months. The encounter signals a renewed intensity in Srinagar, which has seen a lull in clashes since April 2022.
According to Jammu and Kashmir police data, the last major gunfight in Srinagar took place on April 10, 2022, when two militants were killed in the Bishambar Nagar area. According to the police, the militants, identified as Muhammad Bhai alias Abu Qasim, also known as Mir Shoaib or Mudassir, and Abu Arsalan alias Khalid alias Aadil, were believed to be part of high-profile militant networks.
Another encounter took place in early January 2022 in the Shalimar area in which two militants -- Muhammad Salim Parrey from Hajin Bandipora and Hafiz, a Pakistani national -- were killed.
According to the data, Srinagar witnessed a few smaller-scale militant attacks but not any major encounter. On January 22, 2023, a grenade attack in the Eidgah area injured a civilian, Ajaz Rashid Deva. On September 18, 2023, militants fired upon a CRPF vehicle escorting a BJP leader in Khanyar, though no injuries were reported. Later that year, on October 29, Inspector Masroor Ahmed Wani was shot fatally while playing cricket in Eidgah, succumbing to his injuries in December.
More recently, on February 7, 2024, militants targeted and killed two non-local civilians from Punjab, Amritpal Singh and Rohit Mashi, in Srinagar’s Shaheed Gunj area. On April 11, 2024, a local militant, Danish Aijaz Sheikh from Illahi Bagh, was killed in an encounter in Frasipora village in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, illustrating the shifting terrain of militant activity in the region.
Search Operation Launched In Bandipora
Meanwhile, parallel to the Srinagar encounter, yet another gunfight broke out between security forces and terrorists in north Kashmir's Bandipora district on Saturday.
In a post on X, the Indian Army on Saturday said that terrorists opened fire on security personnel and escaped into the jungle. "On 01 November 2024 late evening, suspicious movement was spotted, in gen area Panar of Bandipora, by alert troops. On being challenged, terrorists opened indiscriminate fire and escaped into the jungle. Search Operation underway," Chinar Corps, Indian Army posted on X.
The encounters come a day after two non-local labourers were attacked allegedly by militants in central Kashmir's Budgam district. The labourers were grievously injured in the attack and were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Recently, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a security review meeting and directed the security forces to nab the attackers and prevent such attacks.
Last week, three terrorists were killed in the Akhnoor area of Jammu in a 27-hour-long gunfight near the Line of Control (LoC) after militants attacked an army convoy.
