Jammu & Kashmir CM Mufti says Tral encounter an "unfortunate" incident

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today termed the killing of a youth in Tral area of Pulwama district as "unfortunate", saying the army should deal with the situation in the state "cautiously".

"It is an unfortunate incident. We will ascertain the facts in the case," Sayeed told reporters here.

He said such an incident should not have happened and the government would bring the facts of the incident to the fore.

"Such an incident should not have happened. I do not want to go into the details as it would not be right. Inquiries happen every time, but we will really ascertain the facts in this case," he said.

Khalid Muzaffar Wani, brother of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan, was killed along with another youth in an army encounter in Buchoo forest of Tral on Monday, sparking violent protests.

Asked about the different statements from army and state police over the incident, Sayeed said: "There are no different statements. The situation is very complex here and the army should deal with it cautiously".

The army had maintained that the duo were killed in an exchange of fire between militants and a patrol party. They also said that two AK assault rifles along with other weapons were recovered from Wani after the encounter.

However, the state police had said earlier that according to the preliminary investigations, Wani had gone to the forest area to meet his brother and was caught in the cross-firing between the army and militants.