Pulwama, Oct 18: A newly-recruited militant of Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM) outfit was killed in a brief shootout with the government forces at a village in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district late Wednesday night.
A police official said that Army men of 50 RR and SOG personnel had set up a Nakka at Dougam Kakapora.
He said that a few militants moving through the area were intercepted by the forces around 11:50 pm last night.
The militants opened fire on the forces, and in the retaliatory action one of the militants got killed, said the official.
He identified the slain militant as Showkat Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Padgampora, Awantipora. Some arms and ammunition were claimed recovered from his possession.
Bhat had joined militancy on October 02 and was associated with Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen, he said.
Meanwhile, police in a tweet said that the slain militant was wanted in yesterday’s grenade attack in Pattan area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district that left three cops, including an officer, wounded.
Bhat had managed to escape Wednesday while his accomplice, Faizan Majeed Bhat – a resident of Tral in Pulwama – was arrested by the police who chased them after the militants lobbed a grenade on a police party at a ‘naka’ in Pattan area.
Three police personnel, including Deputy Superintendent of Police Zafar Mehdi, were injured in the attack.
The duo had recently joined TuM outfit, the official said.
Meanwhile, TuM today said the militant — Faizan Majeed Bhat — arrested by the police yesterday in Pattan had been sent home by the outfit “as he was very young student”.
In a statement, a TUM spokesman said that Faizan Majeed of Tral had joined the outfit few days ago but he was asked to go home “in line with the outfit’s policy’ and asked to continue his studies”.
He said that the police arrested him Wednesday after the outfit carried out a grenade attack in Patan area of Baramulla which left three cops, including an officer, injured.
“Militants safely escaped from the area after carrying out the attack. But the forces arrested an innocent student and passed him off as a militant. He had joined the outfit few days ago but he was asked to go home and continue his studies. He has no association with the outfit,” said the spokesman.
