Lagatar24 Desk
Srinagar, Oct.12: Three terrorists were killed in an anti-terror operation last night, authorities claimed, at least one of whom was involved in the targeted death of a civilian in J&K over the last week.
The three were slain during an anti-terror operation in the Shopian neighbourhood; they were given the opportunity to surrender but declined. They were claimed to be members of The Resistance Front, a Lashkar-e-Taiba offshoot suspected of killing civilians, according to officials.
“… 03 terrorists of LeT (TRF) killed. Identification being ascertained. Incriminating materials, including arms and ammunition recovered. Search is going on. Further details shall follow,” the police said.
Mukhtar Shah of the Ganderbal district has been linked to the assassination of Virendra Paswan, a Bihar native who worked as a street food seller in Srinagar.
Another terrorist, Imtiyaz Ahmad Dar, was shot and killed in the Hajin district of Bandipore yesterday, police reported, and four of his companions were apprehended.
Dar, according to police, was responsible for the death of Mohammad Shafi Lone, a cab driver from Bandipore who was one of three civilians killed last Tuesday, including Virendra Paswan.
Makhan Lal Bindroo, 70, a prominent member of the Kashmiri Pandit community and owner of a drugstore in Srinagar’s Iqbal Park, was the third casualty.
Deepak Chand and Supunder Kour, both teachers at the Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Srinagar’s Eidgah neighbourhood, were assassinated less than 48 hours later.
In response to the killings, police and security personnel have detained nearly 700 persons in the previous five days.
Several of those seized are believed to have ties to the banned Jamaat-e-Islami or are suspected overground workers (OGW) from Srinagar, Budgam, or other parts of southern Kashmir, according to police.
They were held to “break the chain of attacks”, according to officials.
The assassinations have prompted uproar in the already tense Kashmir Valley, with opposition leaders blasting the administrations for their seeming inability to stop the attacks and residents living in fear.
Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandit families have already departed the Valley due to their fear.
Farooq Abdullah, the leader of the National Conference and a former Chief Minister said on Thursday that innocent people were dying and that the government should rethink its policies. He also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pay a visit to the Valley and reassure the people who live there.
After Amit Shah conducted a meeting and purportedly arrested local officials, the Home Ministry dispatched a team of top officers to Kashmir to oversee activities.
