Naikoo was A++ terrorist with reward of Rs 12L on head
Riyaz Naikoo, one of the top commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen, a pro-Pakistan banned terror outfit in Kashmir Valley, was killed along with one of his close aides in Beighpora area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday.
Naikoo was an A++ category terrorist and carried a reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head. In 2019, Naikoo had also figured on the list of most wanted terrorists prepared by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Two other local terrorists were killed in a separate encounter with the joint teams of security forces in Sharshali Khrew area of Awantipora, taking the tally of killed terrorists since January 2020 to 67.
As stone-pelters as usual tried to scuttle the encounter, a few of them were injured in police action, but there was no official confirmation about the nature of injuries.
Confirming the identity of the terrorists killed in Beighpora area, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir range, Vijay Kumar told reporters, “The slain terrorist was identified as Hizbul Mujahideen’s chief operational commander Riyaz Naikoo”.
Police spokesman in Srinagar said, in Sharshali encounter, 2 terrorists of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) were killed.
“In the second operation in Beighpora village of Awantipora, a top terrorist commander was trapped along with his accomplice. The operation was launched last evening and contact was established with hiding terrorists in the morning on Wednesday. In this encounter, two terrorists were killed. One of the terrorists has been identified as Riyaz Naikoo. He was the chief operational commander of the HM outfit in Kashmir,” the spokesman said.
Following his elimination in the six-hour long operation, widespread incidents of stone-pelting were reported from Beighpora, Gulzarpora, Ghat Tokna and Malangpora prompting the authorities to suspend mobile internet and voice calling facilities of private networks across the Kashmir valley.
Naikoo’s killing, close on the heels of sacrifice of eight security personnel including a commanding officer of 21 Rashtriya Rifles, is set to boost the morale of the security forces in the Valley.
According to official sources, “Riyaz Naikoo was trapped by the security forces after receiving credible inputs about his presence in his native village of Beighpora late on Tuesday evening”. In the past, Naikoo had managed to give slip to security forces on numerous occasions but this time he ran out of his luck. Instead of conducting the operations in the dead of the night, the security forces waited for the first light and reportedly blasted the house where Naikoo was hiding. Later, they recovered his dead body from the debris of the house and confirmed his elimination after verifying his identity. The security forces also refused to hand over his dead body to his family members to contain mass assembly of locals in the area.
According to police records, Riyaz Naikoo took over the command of Hizbul Mujahideen in the Valley after Zakir Musa, the successor to the group’s commander Burhan Wani, left to form his own terror group Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda in 2017.
Before joining the ranks of terror outfit, Naikoo was working as a Mathematics teacher in a local school. During sporadic protests of 2010, Naikoo was picked up by the security forces for indulging in incidents of stone-pelting. After he was released in 2012, he started working as over ground worker and gradually become one of the key members of the Burhan Wani’s group. He was tech-savvy and was involved in a series of incidents of attacks on security forces, truck drivers, brick kiln workers and civilians. In September 2018, Naikoo along with his cadre had reportedly kidnapped family members of police officers. Later, the kidnapped relatives were exchanged in a “swap” with his detained father.
Police spokesman said, “Naikoo had been continuously making audio and video clips and putting up on social media to motivate youth to join militancy and went on recruiting new boys”. He was responsible for a large number of innocent youths getting into militant ranks and indulging in serious violence against local population and security forces, added police spokesman.
“He was a mastermind behind the revival of HM outfit in Jammu & Kashmir. He also released videos / audios on number of occasions carrying pro-Pakistan and separatist propaganda,” said police statement.
“He looted orchard owners and farmers to collect funds for his outfit. He has also been collecting booty from illicit cultivation of opium and ‘bhang’ in South Kashmir. His outfit also figured in narco trade case in Jammu where a huge sum of sale proceeds was transferred to one of his contacts,” the police statement added.