Anantnag encounter: 'My legs are numb, can't climb down,' DSP Humayun Bhat told his father before death

The DSP of Jammu and Kashmir Police who was killed in a gunfight with terrorists had contacted his family before death. His father, a retired inspector general of police, had suggested him to climb down but he told that his legs were numb and he could not move. He had also said that the soldiers were unable to rescue them due to the presence of militants in the forest.

Srinagar: Deputy superintendent of police Humayun Muzamil Bhat of Jammu and Kashmir Police had spoken to his family members before he was killed in a gunfight with suspected terrorists in Anantnag district on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Col Manpreet Singh and Maj Ashish Dhonchak of 19 Rashtriya Rifles were the other officers who died in the encounter along with Bhat. The terrorists are suspected to belong to The Resistance Front, a shadow group of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

According to family sources, Bhat contacted his family and colleagues through WhatsApp video call on Wednesday after being injured and spoke to them till 2:30 pm. Bhat had informed his father that there were militants in the forest, making it impossible for the soldiers to rescue them.

The suggestion of hillock descent was given to him by his father. But, Bhat could not make the descent since his limbs were numb. "I cannot move my legs as they are numb" Bhat had told his father, Ghulam Hassan Bhat, who retired as the inspector general of police of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to a police official, as there were several militants in the forest it was impossible for the soldiers to rescue the officers. 34-year-old Bhat was the youngest of the three officers killed in the encounter.

Bhat was known by his colleagues and acquaintances as someone who "always led from the front". He got married last year and is survived by his wife Fatima, newborn daughter, parents, and a sister. After working in the social welfare department for a short period, Bhat joined the police force six years back. His friends and acquaintances said they will always remember him as a modest and down-to-earth person.