A group of terrorists is holed up in a multi-storey Government building and a heavy contingent of Army, police and paramilitary personnel are in a standoff with them since Monday morning at Pampore on the outskirts of Srinagar.
Sources said that two to three terrorists were believed to be holed up inside Entrepreneurship Development Institute building that was the site of a bloody encounter in February this year. Till late in the evening heavy mortar shelling and grenade explosions were heard from the encounter site. They said that terrorists sailed in a boat towards the building that is situated between the right bank of Jhelum River and Srinagar-Jammu National Highway early in the morning. Soon after they took positions inside the seven-storey hostel building comprising 55 rooms and a kitchen, the terrorists opened fire on security vehicles passing along the highway triggering the encounter, added the sources. The building was immediately encircled and all routes leading to it were cordoned off.
The vehicular movement on the highway was completely halted for the entire day. Eyewitnesses told The Pioneer that they saw smoke billowing out from the area and heard massive blasts intermittently.
There was no word from the officials on the standoff till late in the evening. Defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said the situation was unclear on the encounter site.
This is the second encounter on the EDI premises in less than eight months. Earlier, on February 20 this year, a massive encounter triggered off in the building when four terrorists were holed up for three days. Two Captains and a Commando from the elite Special Forces were killed in the fierce encounter while four militants were also gunned down.
In another attack on June 25, eight Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, including two officers, were killed and 25 others injured in a fidayeen attack in the vicinity of the EDI building. Pampore has emerged as one of the highly vulnerable areas where terrorists have struck against security forces at their will.
Sources said at Pampore town, 2 kilometres from the encounter site, a group of protesters shouted slogans and attempted to march towards the encounter site. The security forces intercepted the protesters and chased them away with tear smoke shells.
Meanwhile, the authorities clamped curfew in most parts of old Srinagar on Monday to prevent protest demonstrations in the wake of Moharram. All roads leading to city centre lal Chowk were blocked with concertina wire and vehicular movement was completely halted. The authorities disallowed Shia mourners to assemble. The tazia processions from civil lines areas in Srinagar have been banned since the eruption of militancy in Kashmir. However, this year, the situation has worsened since July 8 when security forces shot dead Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and his two associates, which triggered massive public uprising in the region. The normal life is out of gear in the Valley for the past more than three months.