In a gunfight at the Drubgam village in District Pulwama, two Hizb militants, including Sameer Tiger were killed. A civilian identified as Shahid Amed Dar was killed in the clashes which erupted near the gun fight site. Reports said that he was a 14 year old boy however the police statement said that Dar was 25 years old.
At least 15 people were injured and five have been referred to Srinagar for treatment. An Army Major and a personnel were also injured in the gun fight.
The statement of the police regarding the incident is below:
Today in the wee hours of morning, a joint party of 44RR, 182/183 CRPF along with Pulwama Police carried out searches at Drubgam village in District Pulwama.
As the search was going on, militants fired upon the search party which was retaliated by the security forces triggering an encounter.
“During the encounter two militants who were trapped inside the cordon have been neutralized and they have been identified as Sameer Ahmad Bhat alias Sameer Tiger son of Mohd Maqbool Bhat a local from Drubgam Village, while the other one has been identified as Aqib Mushtaq Khan son of Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, a local resident of Rajpora of Pulwama,” the statement said.
Sameer was earlier recruited as an OGW by the banned outfit HM after passing Class 8th since he had discontinued his education due to lack of interest in studies. He was involved in several stone pelting incidents prior to his militant activities. He was active in the area since May 2016 and had remained part of several cases of civilian atrocities in the area, the police said in the statement.
The statement also said that Tiger was involved in the firing incident on the residential house of Ex MLA Syed Bashir Ahmad in Sheikhard and in a grenade attack on the Naka Party at Hawal, Pulwama. Besides his involvement was established in the kidnapping and firing on two civilians from Qasbayar in which one civilian Bashir Ahmad Dar had died instantly while another Altaf Ahmad Dar was seriously injured.
The cops, in the statement also added that last year he had indiscriminately fired upon a patrolling party of 44 RR besides he had also entered into the residential houses of civilians in South Kashmir and forced them to issue video statements against the government and security agencies. Several FIRs pertaining to these incidents had been registered in Police Station Rajpora. Sameer was said to be a close confidant of HM commander Riyaz Naikoo and both had been spotted together in a video released recently on social media.
The other militant was Aqib Mushtaq Khan who was active since July 2017. He also had plotted several attacks on the security establishments in South Kashmir along with Sameer Tiger and was closely associated with him after joining the militant ranks.
Bodies of both the slain militants have been retrieved from the site of encounter. Moreover, 2 AK 47 rifles and other incriminating material have also been seized.
In the incident one civilian named as Shahid Ahmad Dar, aged 25, son of Mohd Ashraf Dar resident of Arihal Pulwama died in cross firing while some others were injured who are all stated to be stable.
Police has registered a case and investigation is on.
