J&K | Srinagar District Not Militancy Free, Militants Getting Killed Before Setting Up Base: IGP Kashmir

IGP kashmir Vijay Kumar has said that Srinagar is not militancy free. Militants keep on coming to city for medical treatment, to receive funds, he said.‘Our proactive action helping us to track them down on time; 12 top militants of three outfits being tracked,’ said Kumar.

Indian security personnel stand guard overlooking the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Nagrota near Jammu. (Photo by Rakesh BAKSHI / AFP)

New Delhi:  Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar Friday said that Srinagar district is not “militancy free” as the militants keep on coming to the district for receiving funds and medical treatment. “Srinagar can never be militancy free as long as militancy exists in other parts. Militants keep on coming to the city for many purposes. At times they come for medical treatment, meeting with each other and sometimes to receive funds,” the IGP Kashmir told reporters on the sidelines of a wreath laying ceremony of a CRPF man who was killed in late night encounter yesterday at Malbagh on Srinagar outskirts. Also Read: Pulwama Attack: NIA Makes 6th Arrest; Nabs Key JeM Aide Mohd Iqbal Rather While replying to a query, he said there have been three encounters in Srinagar including the one yesterday at Malbagh, in less than one month. The IGP said that if there is no encounter in any district, that doesn’t mean the area or the district is militancy free. “Let me clarify, there have been no militant attacks in Srinagar. All the three incidents were the outcome of proactive action of Police and the CRPF where leads were developed and militants hiding in city were tracked down and killed. Yesterday, also a lead was developed and when the suspected spot was zeroed in, the militant fired indiscriminately in which one CRPF was hit who later succumbed,” the IGP said. IGP said that in the Malbagh encounter, police and CRPF killed one ISJK commander for Anantnag district Zahid Das, who along with four other militants was involved in series of attacks on police and CRPF including the one at Bijbehera, recently in which a minor boy was killed. “He was a major criminal for us. His killing is a big success for us,” he said. “Zahid’s two other associates were recently killed in Bijbehara and two more militants of his group are on the run and they will be killed soon,” the IGP said. Asked about the 12 top commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba, who are on police radar including five from Hizb, three from Laskar and four from Jaish, he said “We have already announced their names and they are being tracked down.”