Police in a statement said that On a credible input, a cordon & search operation was launched today morning by police and security forces at Dalipora area in District Pulwama.
As the Police & security forces were evacuating civilians from the neighbourhood area around the target house, the hiding militants fired indiscriminately. In the process one Army Jawan Sepoy Sandeep was killed and one civilian Rayees Dar also lost his life.
After the security forces retaliated, three militants were killed in the ensuing encounter and their bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter. They were identified as Naseer Pandith of Kareemabad Pulwama, Umar Mir of Shopian and from the incriminating material recovered from the site of encounter, one militant has been identified as a Pakistani namely Khalid.
According to the police records, the killed militants were affiliated with proscribed terror outfit JeM. They were wanted by law for their complicity in a series of terror crimes including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities. Several terror crime cases were registered against them.
As per police records Naseer Pandith had a long history of terror crime records before joining militant organization and several terror crime cases were registered against him for planning & executing terror attacks in the area after joining proscribed terror outfit JeM. He was also involved in the killing of a policeman Mohammad Yaqoob Shah of Pulwama in 2018 on the eve of Eid. He was also involved in some weapon snatching incidents reported from the area besides several cases were registered against him for his criminal activities including case FIR No 30/15 & 277/14 under NDPS Act and case FIR No 25/16 pertaining to forgery.
Similarly, Khalid who was operating as commander of proscribed terror outfit JeM was involved in several terror attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities in the area. Many terror crime cases were registered against him. Umar Mir was also involved in several terror attacks and was part of terror groups responsible for attacks on security forces.
Incriminating materials including arms & ammunition was recovered from the site of encounter. All these materials have been taken in the case records for further investigation and to probe their complicity in other terror crime cases.
Citizens are requested not to venture inside the encounter zone since such an area can prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials.
People are requested to cooperate with police till the area is completely sanitized and cleared of all the explosive materials if any.
