There has been no major news about what politicians and some media used to call ‘agitational terrorism’.There has been no major news of what a section of the media and politicians used to call ‘agitational terrorism.
The Union Territory’s summer capital of Srinagar has, however, witnessed around 18 encounters between the militants and security forces since January 2020.In Srinagar, 20 civilians and unarmed policemen were also killed in terror attacks.
One CID Inspector, one Sub Inspector on probationary and two constables were killed in attacks from behind.They also include popular chemist Makhan Lal Bindroo, two non-Muslim teachers and two golgappa vendors who killed selectively.
Some of these attacks were captured live on CCTV cameras; some by the assassins’ bodycams, which were subsequently made viral to spread maximum possible fear among the people perceived to be leaning towards India.
Quite a number of the terror attacks on the soft targets as well as the encounters occurred in the summer Capital’s usually peaceful areas of Allochi Bagh, Rambagh, Hyderpora, Nowgam, Parimpora and Lawaypora on the south-western periphery.
On 7 October 2020, Police and security forces claimed to have killed two top wanted terrorists of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT)–Saifullah and Irshad Ahmad Dar of Pulwama–in an encounter at Rambagh.On 23 August 2021, police and security forces claimed that The Resistance Front (TRF), chief Abbas Sheikh, and his’second in-command’ Saquib Makoor were killed in a lightning strike’ at Rambagh.
Three shootouts around Rambagh, Lawaypora, and the 40 CRPF members who were killed in February 2019 caused controversy.
On 19/12 2020, three youths from Pulwama, Athar Mushtaq, Zubair Ahmad, and Aijaz Maqbool Gai, were killed in an Army operation in a Lawaypora hostel.
The families claimed that the three youths were innocent civilians without any links to militancy.According to the official seizure memo, the security forces claimed that they launched the operation based on specific information.
They claimed that the three young men were terrorist associates who opened fire and caused an encounter that resulted in their deaths.One AK-56 rifle and two pistols were mentioned in the official seizure memo.
However, what shook the valley for the first time after August 2019 was the killing of two well-established and well-known civilians–Altaf Bhat and Dr Muddasar Gul–whose bodies came out with two more after an encounter at Hyderpora on 15 November 2021.Initialy, senior Police and Army officers referred to Gul and Bhat as terrorist harbourers.
After a huge public outcry, they changed their minds and said that the two had been killed in cross-firing.As regards the two more bodies, officers claimed that one Haider was ‘probably a Pakistani terrorist’ while his associate Aamir Magrey of Sangaldan, Ramban, was also a confirmed militant.
It was for the first time in the last 28 months that the authorities went on the back foot, ordered exhumation of the two bodies in a distant forest area in Handwara and handed over the same to the family members who conducted the funeral rites silently in the dead of night.The District Magistrate directed that a magisterial investigation be conducted.
Its report will be submitted to government within a few days.The LG has said that anybody, if found guilty of a civilian killing in Hyderpora, would be severely punished.
Three of the most wanted militants–Mehran Yaseen Shalla of Jamalatta Srinagar, Mazoor Ahmad Mir of Babhar Pulwama and Arafat Ahmad Sheikh of Nikloora Pulwama–were killed by the J&K Police in a dramatic shootout, second of such kind after the TRF Abbas Sheikh’s killing in the neighbouring Allochi Bagh, at Rambagh on 24 November 2021.
The Police statement said that the three “TRF terrorists” were travelling in a Santro car which ignored the signal and jumped a checkpoint.
The police statement stated that the trio opened fire as they tried to escape and jump out of a Santro car.However, all three militants were killed in the armed retaliation.Police released a list FIRs that showed that the militants had been responsible for several civilian deaths.Mehran was also alleged to have been killed along with two non-Muslim teachers and the Police Sub Inspector (probationary), Arshid Mir .Families have claimed Mehran and his associates were killed even though they weren’t carrying weapons, but they haven’t insisted on them being “innocent civilians”.However, mainstream politicians, including Mehbooba Mutti and Farooq Abdullah, started to discredit the Police version.
With Lawaypora and Hyderpora, they are also seeking judicial inquiry in the Rambagh encounter.
On 29 November 2021, NC’s three Lok Sabha members from Kashmir–Farooq Abdullah, Mohammad Akbar Lone and Justice (retired) Hasnain Masoodi–staged a protest outside the Parliament.
They carried placards, demanding judicial inquiries in the three disputed encounters in addition to restoration of J&K’s special status under the redundant Article 370 and 35-A.
On 6 December 2021, Mehbooba Mufti, with a team of her party leaders, put up a similar protest at New Delhi’s iconic demonstration point of Jantar Mantar, alleging fake encounters and, like the NC, and demanding judicial inquiries into Lawaypora, Hyderpora and Rambagh encounters.
The poster carried by Mehbooba did not carry any picture of more than 40 civilians and unarmed Policemen whose blood has been spilt by militants since last year.Like a Hurriyat leader’s amphibian son, who is also seen courting some BJP leaders in Delhi, the PDP president chose the blood-splattered site of the Rambagh shootout to protest and ask questions.
“While the Hurriyat and the JKLF have been muted, the so-called mainstream leaders, including the two ex-Chief Ministers, are audaciously promoting and strengthening the Pakistani narrative”, observed a senior BJP leader.He stated that protesting against a fake encounter or innocent civilian killing is the responsibility for the politicians, but Kashmir’s amphibian politicians are selectively crying out over terrorists and exceeding all limits of political histrionics.
According to him, nobody would be spared if Bhat or Dr Gul turned out to be civilians killed in violation of SOPs in the Hyderpora encounter.
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
–indianarrative
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