Protesters torched two police vehicles after clashes broke out in south Kashmir’s Tral pocket on Saturday following death of a Pakistani militant belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit in an encounter with security forces. Hundreds of people gathered at the encounter site at Aripal-Pastuna village to claim the body of slain militant. Police fired automatic weapons to disperse the agitating mob but they resorted to stone pelting and partially burned down two police vehicles.
“After the death of a foreign militant in an encounter at Aripal-Pastuna village some miscreants pelted stones of the police. The miscreants set on fire two police vehicles. Police exercised maximum restraint”, a spokesman of the provincial police said.
Police said that parties of the counter-insurgency wing of police from Budgam and Tral along with Rashtriya rifles troops cordoned off Aripal village on specific information over the presence of militants there. As the troops zeroed in on a hideout inside a residential house, an exchange of fire took place. During the firing, an army man sustained injuries but militants fled away breaking the cordon.
The troops suspected that one of the militants had sustained bullet wounds before fleeing the cordon. The troops later cordoned off a local forest where the militant’s body was recovered. Police suspects the militant died due to blood loss.
One AK rifle, 60 rounds and three magazines have been recovered from the slain militant’s possession who has been identified as Adil Pathan, alias Madni, a resident of Pakistan.
Shortly after the news spread, hundreds of locals mostly young men, boarded vehicles and marched towards the encounter site to claim the body. They were chanting anti-India and pro-freedom slogans.
When the protests swelled, police resorted to mob dispersal methods and fired automatic weapons in air. The protesters attempted to set ablaze two police vehicle. The vehicles suffered minor damage.
Police said that the slain militant worked in close coordination with the Hizbul Mujahideen in the area. Tral is one of the most volatile zones in Kashmir with a large presence of militants.