'Killer of late Sanjay Sharma neutralised': Two militants, army man killed in Pulwama encounter

A joint team of Army, CRPF and Kashmir police launched a cordon and search operation during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday that triggered an encounter with militants in south Kashmir's Padgampora village in which two militants including the alleged killer of Kashmiri Pandit Sanjay Sharma were killed.

Awantipora (J&K): Two militants, one of them believed to be behind the target assassination of Kashmir Pandit Sanjay Sharma last Sunday, were killed by security forces in a fierce overnight encounter in Padgampora village of Awantipora township in south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Tuesday. An army soldier was also killed and another was injured in the gunfight that raged from 1:15 am on Tuesday and continued after dawn with the combing operation still on in the area.

As per the latest inputs from the ground, the two slain militants were identified as Aqib Mushtaq Bhat of Pulwama town and Ajaz Ahmed Bhat of the Tral area of the same district. Aqib was an 'A' category militant who, police said, initially worked for Hizb and was now working for TRF. Ajaz was listed as a 'C' category militant. Security agencies in Kashmir classify militants into certain categories depending upon their duration in the terror organisation they work for and the severity of the incidents they are involved in.

Additional Director General of Police Vijay Kumar confirmed the death of the militants and the soldier in the encounter. He said that Aqib was responsible for killing the Kashmiri Pandit Sanjay Sharma, a bank guard, who was shot dead near his home in Achan in Pulwama last Sunday. Earlier in the day, the Kashmir Police Zone, in a tweet quoting the ADGP, wrote: "Killed terrorist identified as Aqib Mushtaq Bhat of Pulwama (A category). He initially worked for HM terror outfit, nowadays he had been working with TRF. Killer of late Sanjay Sharma neutralised."

Giving details about the operation, a police officer said that a joint team of Army, CRPF and Kashmir police cordoned off Padgampora village following a tip-off that at least two armed militants were hiding inside the mosque. He said that forces exercised extreme caution since the two militants were holed up inside a mosque. "We were determined to ensure there was no damage to the mosque," the officer said.

As the security forces approached the mosque, the militants opened fire injuring a soldier belonging to 55 Rashtriya Rifles. The soldier received a bullet in his thigh, puncturing a main artery. The officer said there was heavy blood loss and the soldier could not survive. He said that Aqib was killed inside the mosque premises while Ajaz leapt out of the mosque and took refuge in a nearby house. Security forces tracked his location and zeroed in on him before shooting him dead as well, the officer added. DIG South Kashmir Rayees Mohammad Bhat while talking to reporters called the operation a "major success" for security agencies.