Ph.D scholar among 2 militants killed in J&K encounter

SRINAGAR: Two Kashmiri militants, including a PhD scholar, was killed in a gunfight with security forces on Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, police said.

The fighting took place in Shatgund village. The police have not confirmed the identities of the militants.

Hizbul commander Manan Bashir Wani, a PhD scholar of Aligarh Muslim University who joined militancy in January, was trapped in the cordon along with another Kashmiri militant and died, police officials said.

Wani belongs to Lolab area of Kupwara. Thousands of civilian participated in his funeral on Thursday evening, despite severe restrictions on their movement.

“See, he was a militant like all others. The only difference was that he was a well-educated militant,” J-K’s ADGP (Law and Order) Muneer Khan said. “He was not a top commander,” reported Indian Express.

A boy too was injured during intense street clashes between protesters and the security forces as news of the gun battle spread following the cordon and search operation in the village.

The boy with a gunshot injury in his leg was shifted to a Srinagar hospital, a police officer said.

Authorities have ordered the closure of all educational institutions and suspended mobile Internet services in the district.

Classes in degree colleges of Bandipora, Baramulla, Pulwama and Srinagar districts have also been suspended as a precaution.

In a separate incident in Pulwama district on Thursday, militants fired at and injured Special Police Officer Bilal Ahmad in Karimabad village. He has been shifted to a hospital, a police officer said.

Agency inputs