Photo for representation only
New Delhi/Srinagar: A police constable was killed fighting militants in Tral, the hometown of slain militant commander Burhan Wani, in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, PTI reported early on Sunday.
A fierce gunbattle had broken out between militants and security forces in the area on Saturday evening when forces laid a cordon in Hayuna village after police and Army suspected that two operatives of the Hizbul Mujahideen were hiding there.
When the search party was zeroing in on a suspected house, militants lobbed grenades and opened heavy volume of fire. Security forces immediately retaliated resulting in a fierce exchange of firing between the two sides.
On Saturday, a senior police officer told CNN-News18: “There was an input and we worked on it. We have launched the operation and the encounter is presently going on. As soon as the identification (of ultras) is done we will let you know.”
News of the encounter had triggered a law and order problem in the area. A rifle was snatched from a CRPF jawan by a few youth just outside the encounter site.
Early on Sunday, PTI quoted officials as saying that Jammu and Kashmir police constable Manzoor Ahmed was killed fighting militants.
(With PTI inputs)