In an encounter at Pulwama, three militants affiliated to Hizbul Mujahideen were on Saturday by Security forces. he militants were identified as Showkat Dar of Panzgam Awantipora, Irfan War of Wadoora Payeen Sopore and Muzaffar Sheikh of Tahab Pulwama.
Showkat Dar was part of the group that abducted and killed Army jawan Aurangzeb last June, the police said, adding that he was involved in the planning and execution of several other attacks in the area.
The encounter broke out between terrorists and security forces at around 2:10 am in Pulwama’s Panzam. Troops of the Central Reserve Police Force, Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group were involved in the encounter.
The bodies of the terrorists were found during a post-encounter search. “Dar was part of a group involved in the killing of Army jawan Aurangzeb in 2018. He was also involved in the killing of policeman Aqib Ahmad Wagay last year. Several terror crime cases were registered against him,” a police spokesperson said.
Aurangzeb’s death had led to outrage across the country. He was conferred the Shaurya Chakra posthumously on Independence Day last year. In February, Aurangzeb’s father had joined the BJP in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Vijaypur, Jammu.
Irfan War and Muzafar Sheikh were also on the police’s radar for executing attacks on security establishments in the area. As per police records, several criminal cases were registered against Sheikh for terrorist activities.
Meanwhile, two separate encounters broke out in Anantnag and Sopore on Saturday. More details are awaited.