Monitor News Bureau
Srinagar, Nov 20: Four militants and a Para commando were killed in encounter between militants and government forces in Nadigam area of South Kashmir’s Shopian district Tuesday morning.
Officials said that a Joint team of Army’s 34RR, 23 PARA and SOG Shopian launched a cordon-and-search-operation in Nadigam village of Shopian after getting input of the presence of some militants in the area.
The hiding militants, as per officials, fired upon government forces triggering a gunfight.
“As the search operation was going on, the search party was confronted with bullets fired by the hiding militants. The fire was retaliated leading to an encounter. In the initial exchange of fire one army man identified as HC Vijay of 23 Para sustained injuries and was evacuated to the hospital for medical treatment where he succumbed,” a police spokesman said.
In the ensuing encounter, four militants were killed and the bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter.
Three more soldiers, as per reports, were also wounded during the encounter. They were identified as Sepoy Shailender Singh of 34 RR, Lance Naik Somveer of 23 PARA and Havaldar Bhupinder Singh of 23 PARA.
The killed militants, all for Shopian district, were identified as Abid Nazir Chopan of Padarpora, Basharat Nengroo of Chotigam, Mehraj-ud-Din Najar of Drawni and Malik Zada Inam-ul-Haq of Mantujan.
They, as per the police spokesman, were associated with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.
“Incriminating materials including huge quantity of arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of encounter. Police has registered a case and initiated investigation in the matter. Citizens are once again requested not to venture inside the encounter zone since such an area can prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials. People are requested to cooperate with police till the area is completely sanitized and cleared of all the explosives materials if any,” he said.
Following the killing of the militants, the people, mostly youth took to streets near the gunfight site at Nadigam and its adjoining areas.
The police and paramilitary forces deployed in the area used tear smoke shells, pellets and some live ammunition to disperse the protesters resulting in injuries to eight people.
Among the injured, three including the two women received bullets.
All the injured were taken to district hospital Shopian where from the bullet wounded trio were referred to Srinagar hospital for specialized treatment.
Similar reports of clashes were received from Muran Chowk and Rajpora areas of neighboring Pulwama district. Two persons were reported injured in the clashes.
Soon after the gunfight, authorities snapped internet services in Pulwama and Shopian districts as part of established norms by the authorities in the state.
