Terrorists Killed In Ramban Encounter Were Trying To Escape Crackdown

The three terrorists who were killed in Saturday’s encounter with security forces in Ramban were trying to escape from Kishtwar due to a crackdown launched by police and CAPF in the district, Jammu and Kashmir police chief Dilbag Singh said.

A top Hizbul Mujahideen ‘commander’, Osama, and his two associates, Zahid and Farooq, were gunned down in the gunfight.

An Army soldier was also killed in the exchange of fire.

The terrorists were killed when they tried to escape from a house where they had sought refuge while being chased by security forces following a brief exchange of fire in Batote area along Jammu-Kishtwar national highway.

“A massive crackdown was launched a few days back in Kishtwar after which 41 persons with suspicious activities were picked up. More than a dozen of them turned out to be involved in helping terrorists by harboring (them) and being associates,” Singh said on Sunday. “It was because of this pressure maintained by the police and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) that the terrorists tried to escape towards Kashmir and as a result of this pressure they were neutralized yesterday,” he said while inspecting the encounter scene in Batote.

According to officials, Osama was the brain behind several sensational incidents, including the killings of senior BJP leader Anil Parihar and his brother Ajit Parihar on November 1, 2018, and RSS functionary Chanderkant Sharma and his personal security officer on April 9.

A Jammu and Kashmir Police spokesperson said Singh first visited the house in Batote where the terrorists had taken refuge.