Written by Sharangee Dutta | Edited by Chandrashekar Srinivasan, New Delhi
As many as 62 terrorists have been killed so far this year in various encounters in Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Thursday. Of these, 47 were locals, the police added. Vijay Kumar, inspector-general of police (Kashmir), said 32 were neutralised within three months of joining the ranks of various terror outfits. “Due to enhanced Humint, Techint and focused operations, the surviving rate of terrorists is drastically decreasing,” Kashmir Zone Police tweeted quoting Kumar.
As many as 39 of the 62 hailed from the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), while 15 belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) – both are Pakistan-based terrorist organisations. Eight were from locally active organisations Hizbul Mujahideen (six) and Al-Badr (two).
The two from Al-Badr were killed in an encounter in Pulwama early this morning. They have been identified as Aijaz Hafiz and Shahid Ayub, and two AK rifles were recovered after an encounter between them and a joint team of police and Army officers.
Kumar said Hafiz and Ayub were involved in a series of attacks on labourers from outside Jammu and Kashmir between March and April this year.
This comes only four days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated multiple projects worth ₹20,000 crore in the Palli Panchayat area of the Kashmir Valley’s Samba district.
This was Modi’s first visit to Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
During his 40-minute speech on the occasion of the National Panchayati Raj Day, Modi said the revocation of special status had allowed people of the Valley to avail the benefits of various central schemes and the Panchayati Raj system. He also reached out to the youth, assuring them that they would not suffer like their parents and grandparents.
Trending Topics to Follow
