Professor among 5 Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists killed in Shopian

SRINAGAR: Five Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, including its top commander Saddam Padder and a fresh recruit, an assistant professor from the Kashmir University, were killed in an encounter on Sunday in Shopian area in south Kashmir even as five civilians died during clashes between protesters and security forces near the encounter site, the police said.

The five slain terrorists were identified as Saddam Hussain Padder, Bilal Ahmad Mohand, Adil Ahmed Malik, Tauseed Ahmad Sheikh and Mohammed Rafi Bhat, a PhD scholar and an assistant professor in the Kashmir University, they said.

Padder, who hailed from Heff in Shopian region, was active since September 2014, while Malik was active since 2014 and Sheikh from 2013. Mohand was active since 2016 and the Kashmir University assistant professor had joined the terror group last Friday, officials said. With Padder’s killing, all 10 militants, who appeared for the first time together along with Hizbul Mujahideen’s poster boy Burhan Wani in 2015, have been neutralised, officials said.


Padder and his aides were involved in a number of civilian killings and attacks on security forces besides instigating youth to join the terrorist network, police said. Today’s encounter in Badigam comes within 24 hours of a swift police operation in Chattabal area of the city in which three Lashkere-Taiba militants were gunned down.

Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, SP Pani, said repeated attempts were made to persuade the assistant professor to surrender.

After receiving an input about his presence, we even brought his family from Ganderbal to persuade him to surrender, Pani said. “During the encounter, while handling a highly volatile situation, civilians were injured in cross firing and among them five succumbed to their injuries. The condition of other injured persons are stated to be stable,” an official spokesperson said.

Kashmir University suspended classes for two days from Monday as a precautionary measure and postponed exams that were to be held tomorrow. Mobile Internet services were snapped in south Kashmir districts and Ganderbal in central Kashmir, while the facility remained barred in Srinagar for the second consecutive day today.

J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti expressed anguish and grief over the death of five civilians. Opposition NC working president Omar Abdullah said “unabated” civilian killings in the Valley were unacceptable. Meanwhile, separatists called for a strike and march to Civil Secretariat — the seat of J&K government — on Monday.