News Analysis India

Tag: Jammu and Kashmir

  • Top Lashkar-e-Toiba commander among two terrorists gunned down in J&K’s Sopore 

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: Two Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists, including a top commander of the outfit, were killed in an overnight encounter with security forces in the Sopore area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district, police said on Friday.

    A police spokesperson said the security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Warpora area of Sopore on Thursday, following specific information about the presence of ultras there.

    “During the search operation, as the presence of terrorists got ascertained, they were given repeated opportunities to surrender. However, instead of surrendering, they fired indiscriminately upon the joint search party which was retaliated, leading to an encounter,” he said.

    In the ensuing encounter, two “categorised terrorists of proscribed terror outfit LeT” were killed, and their bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter, the official said.

    ALSO READ | Lashkar behind attack on security forces in Sopore, says Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh

    He identified them as Fayaz Ahmad War, alias Rukana, alias Umar, of Warpora, who was a top commander of the LeT, and Shaheen Ahmad Mir, alias Shaheen Molvi, of Cherpora Budgam.

    “As per police records, both the slain terrorists were part of groups involved in various terror crime cases and several terror crime cases were registered against them,” he added.

    The spokesman said War had been associated with terrorism since 2008.

    “Although he had surrendered earlier with arms and ammunition, after his release, he again worked as a terrorist associate for proscribed terror outfit HM and was detained under PSA. However, after his release in March 2020, he joined terrorist ranks of proscribed terror outfit LeT,” he said.

    Besides being part of groups involved in several terror crime cases, War was very instrumental in planning and executing terror attacks on security establishments and civilian killings, and figured among the list of most-wanted terrorists in north Kashmir, the spokesperson said.

    “He was the last active terrorist who perpetrated a series of various terror crimes and violence in north Kashmir which included attack on police party at Warpora Sopore in March last year in which one police personnel and a civilian got killed and the attack on joint naka party at Ahad Baba crossing on in April last year in which three CRPF personnel got killed,” he said.

    The spokesman said War was also involved in the killing of a civilian, Danish Manzoor Naja of Eidipora Bomai, and an attack on a joint naka party at Model Town Sopore in which another civilian and a CRPF trooper were killed.

    He was involved in the killing of two municipal councillors and a policeman near SDH Sopore on June 12, and two police personnel and two civilians at Main Chowk, Sopore, the official added.

    War was also involved in a series of grenade attacks on police and security establishments, he said.

    Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition, including two AK-47 rifles and four magazines, were recovered from the site of the encounter, the spokesman said.

    Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar congratulated police and security forces for conducting a successful operation in a professional manner without any collateral damage.

  • Will wait for more ‘liberal’ government to give back J-K’s special status: Sajad Gani Lone

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: People’s Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone has said he does not expect the BJP-led Centre to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.

    “I wouldn’t expect them to give it back. But that doesn’t stop us from going to the courts, which we have, or waiting for a liberal government at a future date to give it back,” the People’s Conference tweeted Lone’s remarks on its official handle on Monday.

    The Centre on August 5, 2019, had abrogated Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated it into Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

    “Abrogating Article 370 was an ideological plank of this government for 70 years,” Lone said. The separatist-turned-mainstream politician said his party will not allow the restoration of special status come in the way of seeking other objectives like grant of statehood to one of the youngest Union Territory of the country.

    “We should not allow the issues of Articles 370 and 35 A to be an impediment in delivering other things which are more achievable in the short term like full statehood,” Lone said, according to the tweet.

  • Top LeT commander among 2 killed in encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: A top commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba was among two militants killed in an overnight encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Monday.

    Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Check Sadiq Khan area of south Kashmir district on Sunday after receiving specific inputs about the presence of militants there, a police official said.

    He said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened fire on security forces, who retaliated.

    Two militants were killed in the encounter.

    One of the slain militants was identified as Ishfaq Dar alias Abu Akram, a top commander of LeT.

    He was active since 2017, the official said, adding that further details were awaited.

  • Encounter breaks out between militants, security forces in J-K’s Shopian district

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: An encounter broke out between security forces and militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Sunday, police said here.

    The security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Check Sadiq Khan area of the south Kashmir district, following information about the presence of militants there, a police official said.

    He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the militants opened fire towards the security forces’ positions.

    The security forces retaliated, triggering a gunbattle that was going on when the last reports came in, the official said.

  • Two forest officials arrested on bribery charges in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri

    By PTI
    JAMMU: Two forest department officials were arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Sunday for accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000 from a person in Rajouri district, officials said here.

    They were identified as forest guard Anil Kumar and forester Ajaz Mirza, the officials added.

    The accused had demanded the bribe to settle a complaint lodged against a man and his family members, the ACB officials said.

    Searches were conducted at offices and residences of the accused after their arrest, they said, adding that an investigation is underway.

  • Panun Kashmir objects to Jammu and Kashmir delimitation exercise based on 2011 Census

    By PTI
    JAMMU: The Panun Kashmir, an organisation of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, on Sunday objected to the conduct of the delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of 2011 Census.

    Its chairman Ajay Chrungoo claimed that the exercise based on the 2011 data will negate the social and political gains made since the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 and its bifurcation into union territories in August 2019.

    The Delimitation Commission, tasked with redrawing assembly constituencies and carving out new ones in the Union Territory, had earlier said that the exercise would be done according to the Census of 2011.

    On the Foundation Day of Panun Kashmir, Chrungoo reiterated its demand for a separate Union Territory for the community.

  • J&K govt to identify unfit employees for termination

    Express News Service
    SRINAGAR:  A week after terminating the services of 11 government employees for alleged involvement in anti-national activities, Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday asked the administrative secretaries to identify from among those who have completed 22 years of service or have reached 48 years of age, the employees who are ineffective or unfit to continue.  

    “The exercise of review of performance of the government servants will be initiated for each government servant for the first time after her/his completion of 22 years of service or attaining 48 years of age and any time subsequently, as may be required,” reads a circular issued by J&K Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta. It stated that the government has observed that the departments have not initiated any exercise for reviewing the performance of the government servants.

    “It impressed upon all the administrative secretaries to initiate the process/exercise of reviewing the performance of any government servant, who has completed 48 years of age or 22 years of service for identifying such government servants who are ineffective in work and are not fit to continue in the post held and have no utility for the purpose for which they are employed,” reads the circular.

    It directed the departments to follow the procedure as laid down under Article 226(2) of the J&K Civil Service Regulations Volume I and place the cases of such employees before the review committee for consideration.

  • BSF personnel open fire at drone, force it to retreat across border 

    Express News Service
    SRINAGAR:  The Border Security Force (BSF) on Tuesday night spotted a drone over Arnia sector of Jammu and Kashmir and opened fire, forcing it to retreat across the International Border (IB). It was the sixth sighting of an unidentified drone in J&K after the first-ever drone attack on an Indian Air Force base in Jammu on June 27. 

    A BSF official said, a blinking red light was spotted by border guards about 9.52 pm on Tuesday.  The drone was flying at a height of about 200 meters inside the Indian side of the border. The BSF personnel quickly fired at the flying object, forcing it to retreat across the border, the official said. 

    The security officials said the drone must have been tasked with spying or dropping arms and ammunition for local terrorists. Once the drone retreated, the BSF launched a search operation in the area but nothing suspicious was found on the ground.

    Airports, military and government installations and along the IB and the Line of Control (LoC) have been on high-alert since the June 27 attack in which injured two. Two drones had dropped two IEDs, which comprised RDX and nitrate, on the IAF base in the first attack. The attack damaged the rooftop of one of the buildings. 

    Wednesday’s foiled drone activity was the sixth instance of a drone being spotted in Jammu region after the June 27 IAF base attack, which is about 14 kms from the border.

    Six incidents in two weeks 

    June 27: Two drones drop bombs on IAF base in Jammu, 14 kms from IBJune 28: Army fires at drones near Ratnachuk-Kalchak military station in JammuJune 29: Drone spotted over Sunjawan military station in JammuJune 30: Drone spotted near Kaluchak and Kunjwani areas of JammuJuly 2: BSF fires at quad copter in Arnia sector. Quad copter returns after firingJuly 14: BSF thwarts drone activity in Arnia sector by firing

  • BSF personnel open fire at flying object spotted near border in Jammu

    By PTI
    JAMMU: Border Security Force (BSF) personnel opened fire at a flying object after they spotted it near the International Border (IB) in the Arnia sector of Jammu and Kashmir, a senior official said on Wednesday.

    On the intervening night of July 13 and 14, a blinking red light was observed by the troops in the Arnia sector at a height of 200 metres on its own side, the official said in a statement.

    “The troops fired from their position towards the red blinking light due to which it returned. The area is being searched. Nothing has been found so far,” he added.

    On July 2, a quadcopter from Pakistan tried to enter Indian territory along the international border from Arnia sector but retreated after it was fired at by the personnel of the BSF.

    In what was the first instance of Pakistan-based terrorists deploying drones to strike vital installations, two bombs were dropped at the IAF station in Jammu city in the early hours of June 27, causing minor injuries to two personnel.

    Authorities in various districts, mostly in border districts in Jammu and Kashmir, have banned the storage, sale or possession of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles.

  • Three LeT militants including Pakistani commander killed in gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama

    Express News Service
    SRINAGAR: Three militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba including a Pakistani commander were killed in a nocturnal gunfight with security forces in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police said.

    A police official said acting on specific inputs about the presence of militants, a joint contingent of police, CRPF and army launched a search operation in main town Pulwama yesterday evening.

    Three Lashkar militants including a commander killed in a gunfight with troops in Pulwama in south Kashmir, according to @JmuKmrPolice.@NewIndianXpress
    — Fayaz Wani (@iamfayazwani) July 14, 2021

    He said after plugging all the possible escape routes, security personnel zeroed in on the target area where the militants were hiding.

    ALSO READ | Security forces destroy IED planted by militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam

    “After finding themselves trapped, militants opened fire on the troops. The fire was returned by security men, triggering an encounter,” the official said.

    In the ensuing gunfight, which continued till the morning today, three Lashkar militants were killed.

    IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said two of the three militants killed were locals and another was a Pakistani militant Aijaz alias Abu Huraira.

    “Aijaz was commander of the outfit,” he said.

    Today’s encounter is the 8th encounter in the Valley in the last fortnight.

    In these encounters, 21 militants and an army jawan have been killed.