Three JeM militants gunned down in Pulwama were locals and involved in civilian killings: J&K Police

Srinagar: All the three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants who were killed in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir district of Pulwama on Saturday were locals and involved in civilian killings and other atrocities, police said on Sunday.

The arms and ammunition recovered from the slain militants included a Self Loading Rifle (SLR) which was looted from a policeman guarding a minority village at Zainpora in south Kashmir district of Shopian on December 11, 2018, a police spokesperson said.

Three JeM militants were killed in an encounter which ensued after a joint team of Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and Special Operation Group (SOG) was attacked by the militants in the forest area of Nagbaeran Tral, Awantipora in Pulwama.

One of the slain militants was identified as Wakeel Shah, who was involved in the killing of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) Municipal Councilor Rakesh Pandits on June 2, 2021 in Tral area of Pulwama, the spokesman added.

While the second militant was identified as Abdul Hamid Chopan. His son Adil Chopan was also a militant, who was killed in an encounter with security forces in 2017. Hamid was involved in killings of civilians, he added.

He said the third militant was identified as Illyas Najar, son of Manzoor Najar, a resident of Khellan, Pulwama. Illyas was active since June 2019 and was involved in many militancy-related incidents, including atrocities on civilians.

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir range, K Vijay Kumar described the elimination of JeM militants as a major success and warned that ultras killing civilians and later hiding in the woods will not escape the death. (UNI)