Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh today said that in the overnight encounter at Pantha Chowk area in Srinagar, the J&K police lost a brave, well-trained and experienced counter insurgency cop, who had taken part in a series of successful anti-militancy operations over the years.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar on the sidelines of the wreath-laying ceremony of Babu Ram, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) of Special Operations Group (SoG) of J&K Police, the DGP said that he was a brave cop and a well-trained police officer who had been part of many anti-militancy operations in the Valley.
“In Panthachowk operation, we lost a well-trained, brave and experienced counter insurgency cop,” DGP told reporters. He said that yesterday evening, three bike-borne militants fired at the joint party of police and CRPF at a checkpoint at Panthachowk, Srinagar.
“It was a weapon snatching bid that was foiled by the alert troops, forcing the militants to leave behind their bike and take shelter in a nearby residential area,” he said.
The DGP said that teams of SoG and CRPF acted swiftly and cordoned off the area till senior officers of police and CRPF joined them to supervise the operation. “The operation lasted for the entire night. In the initial exchange, one militant was killed and we lost ASI Babu Ram. As the operation progressed, we killed two more militants,” the DGP said.
He said that the three slain militants belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba and one of them was a commander active since past over a year.
“We brought the families of two others from the Pampore area who appealed to their children to surrender, but they refused and instead fired. This was done despite the fact that we lost our brave cop in the operation,” the DGP said.
He said one AK-47 rifle and pistols were recovered from the slain militants. Asked whether the three slain militants were involved in the August 14 Nowgam, Srinagar attack in which two cops were killed, the DGP said that police were investigating and nothing can be stated at this juncture.
-ARK
