A soldier and an unidentified infiltrator have been killed in a prolonged gun-battle along the line of Control (loC) in Machhil sector of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. The gunfight triggered off on Tuesday morning when troops deployed along the loC observed suspicious movement in the forested area.
Police sources said that a soldier of 56 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and an unidentified militant were killed in the encounter near Katwara forest area in Machhil sector. Four other soldiers sustained injuries in the day-long gunfight on Tuesday. They were airlifted to Army’s Base Hospital in Srinagar for treatment.
A Defence spokesman said that the area is calm since Wednesday morning and there has been no exchange of fire. However, the entire area continues to be under cordon. The Army suspected that a group of militants had infiltrated but after being challenged the group is likely to have retreated after losing one cadre in the gunfight.
The affiliation of the slain militant was not known.
The encounter raged in the Macchil forests at a time when Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh arrived here to oversee the security situation along the loC and the hinterland. He had a meeting with the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and deliberated on security situation along the loC and the hinterland.
Meanwhile, unknown persons lobbed two grenades in south Kashmir’s Shopian town on Wednesday afternoon. One grenade was hurled towards a police station but it did not cause any damage. Another grenade was lobbed in quick succession towards a market place that hit two shopkeepers.
The situation remained tense in several parts of capital Srinagar as authorities foiled the separatist groups’ programme to hold a silent protest at lal Chowk against the Government’s plans to set up exclusive colonies for Kashmiri Pandits and former soldiers of the Indian Army. The Government has repeatedly clarified that no land has been earmarked or allotted for establishing a sainik colony. The Government also said that Pandits will be rehabilitated in composite colonies and there will be no exclusive clusters for them. The authorities have already put most of the separatist leaders including Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin malik under house arrest. The separatist groups have launched a joint campaign to “resist” plans of the Government “to change the demography of Kashmir.”
Clashes erupted between protesters and police in Batamaloo and Bemina pockets of Srinagar after the funeral of a suspected militant who was killed at Kud, around 150 kilometers from here, while travelling on Srinagar-Jammu national highway on Monday.
Police said the slain militant was carrying a rifle. He was shot dead when a routine checking party intercepted a bus he was travelling in. His family, however, said that he was on way to Amritsar for a medical check-up.