Army jawans take positions during an encounter between security forces and two suspected Lashkar-e-Tayyaba militants at Peerbagh Ratnipora, in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)
Army jawans take positions during an encounter between security forces and two suspected Lashkar-e-Tayyaba militants at Peerbagh Ratnipora, in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)
At least one person was killed in police firing and 30 people, including eight policemen, injured in street clashes in Jammu and Kashmir’s southern district of Pulwama on Tuesday.
The clashes took place while an encounter between a group of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba militants and security forces was underway in the area. Two LeT militants were killed in the encounter.
Witnesses said that the police swung bamboo sticks, burst teargas canisters and finally opened fire to disperse surging crowds which had surrounded the paddy fields in Ratnipora-Malanganpora area of Pulwama where gunbattle between LeT militants and security forces was taking place. They hurled rocks and other projectiles on policemen and allegedly made repeated attempts to help the militants to break the security dragnet and escape.
A youth, Bilal Ahmed Butt, who was injured in the police firing at Malaganpora died while being shifted to a Srinagar hospital. A J&K government spokesperson expressed deep sorrow and anguish over what he said “loss of a precious human life” and reiterated that the security forces have been asked to exercise maximum restraint while dealing with public protests, particularly to avoid physical harm to any civilian.
He also said the state government has ordered a time-bound investigation and inquiry into the incident “to ensure that those who are guilty of the offence are brought to book and punished”.
The two LeT militants killed in the gunbattle have been identified as Showkat Ahmed Lone, alias Ali, and his accomplice Gulzar Ahmad, alias Shaheen.
