CRPF attack plotter killed in Pulwama encounter

Three Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists, including ‘Kamran’, suspected to be linked to the February 14 terror attack on a CRPF convoy, were killed in a fierce 16-hour encounter, in which an Army major and four security forces personnel lost their lives in south Kashmir on Monday. The gun battle left a civilian dead in the crossfire, besides injuries to DIG of Police (south Kashmir) Amit Kumar, a Brigadier, a Lt Colonel, a Major and four others of the Army unit which carried out the operation in the Pinglan area of Pulwama district, 12 km from Thursday’s audacious attack on CRPF personnel which left 40 jawans dead. J&K Police was on the lookout for Kamran, the divisional commander of Jaish-e-Mohammed for Pulwama, Tral and Awantipora areas of South Kashmir, after a suicide bomber belonging to the terror group drove his explosives-laden vehicle and detonated himself near a CRPF bus last week.

The Pinglan encounter claimed the lives of four Army personnel, a policeman, three Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists and a civilian, the officials said. Two of the slain terrorists were identified as Kamran, a Pakistani national, and Hilal Ahmad, a local recruited by the terror group, they said, adding the identity of the third is being ascertained.

The slain soldiers were identified as Major VS Dhondial, Havaldar Sheo Ram and Sepoys Hari Singh and Ajay Kumar. A head constable of the police was also killed. All the injured are stable, the officials said.


Giving details, the officials said that an input was received from the police about presence of the Jaish terrorists in the area. Immediately, a cordon-and-search operation was initiated and a house-tohouse search was conducted in the area.

As the process was going on, terrorists fired at the Army party that resulted in the death of the Major and other personnel in the early hours of Monday.

Thereafter, forces concentrated on the house from where the firing was coming and killed two of them — Kamran and Hilal. As the mopping up exercise was continuing, the third militant started firing, resulting in injuries to other personnel, they said.