Three militants killed in Srinagar gunfight are innocents, claim families

Controversy has erupted after families of the three men, killed in an encounter in the outskirts of Srinagar, today claimed that the three were innocent and were killed in a staged encounter. Security forces on Wednesday morning claimed to have killed three militants in Lawaypora area.

Srinagar: Security forces on Wednesday claimed to have killed three militants in Lawaypora in the outskirts of Srinagar in an encounter which began on Tuesday evening, however, the families of the slain claim that their sons are innocent and were killed in a staged encounter.

Security forces said that on Tuesday evening they got inputs about the presence of a group of militants hiding in a concrete house in Lawaypora on Srinagar-Baramulla highway after which they laid a cordon around the area.

“In the past ten days, we had inputs about the presence of a group of militants in the area. On Tuesday, we got specific inputs that three militants are in a house right opposite to Noora hospital at Lawaypora in HMT area on the Srinagar-Baramulla highway,” General officer Commanding (GoC) Kilo Force HS Sahi said in a press conference at 22 RR camp in Zainakote in Srinagar outskirts after the operation.

Sahi said the security forces offered the militants to surrender but they declined and fired on the search parties which ensued in exchange of fire.

“The exchange of fire continued until nightfall and the firing was suspended till Wednesday morning. Flashlights were used and all escape routes were sealed,” he said.

The movement of vehicular traffic on Tuesday evening diverted from the Srinagar-Baramulla highway nearby to Magam-Budgam route and was resumed on Wednesday after the operation was called off.

The GoC said that three militants, whose affiliation is being ascertained by the police, killed in an encounter at Lawaypora on Srinagar outskirts were locals and were planning an attack in the area. The GoC said that army’s 2 RR, Police and the CRPF conducted the joint operation.

Sahi was flanked by Commander 10 sector RR Naresh Mishra and SP West Shehzad Salaria. “This was a clean operation and there was no causality to the security forces,” he said.

Controversy erupted today afternoon when the families of the three slain were called for identification to the Police Control Room in Srinagar.

The families identified them as Aijaz Maqbool Ganaie from Putrigam Pulwama, Ather Mushtaq Wani from Bellow Pulwama and Zubair Ahmad Lone from Turkewagan, Shopian.

Relatives of Aijaz Maqbool, said that their father, a police head constable posted in Ganderbal district called them saying that their son was killed in Srinagar gunfight.

“Aijaz had left for University on Tuesday, but he called us at 3 pm and said that he will stay in Srinagar. Today at noon, our father called us and said that he was killed in the encounter. He is innocent and has no FIR or any other police case against him. He was sick for two months,” a relative of Aijaz told media persons outside PCR.

The families protested and wailed over the killing of their sons. They alleged that security forces killed their sons in a staged encounter.

Police dispersed them and took them to Gantmulla, Baramulla where militants are buried from the last one year.