Pampore encounter: Mufti, Nirmal Singh attend wreath laying ceremony for martyrs

Srinagar: The nation paid tribute to the eight Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel today, who lost their lives in an encounter with Lashkar terrorists in Pampore, Jammu and Kashmir, as a wreath laying ceremony was held for the bravehearts with full honours. State Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh were present at the ceremony and paid their respects. Yesterday, Mufti condemned the militant attack, saying that such acts of violence were aimed at subverting the Government's efforts to bring peace and prosperity to the state. "The only purpose of such blood-spattered acts of violence is to add to the tragedies and miseries of the people and subvert the Government's efforts aimed at bringing permanent peace and prosperity to Jammu and Kashmir," Mufti said in a statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also offered his condolences saying that he was pained by the news. "I salute the courage of the CRPF personnel martyred today in J&K. They served the nation with utmost dedication. Pained by their demise. My thoughts are with the families of those martyred today. May those injured recover soon," the Prime Minister said in a series of tweets. Meanwhile, the senior officials of the Home Ministry and the Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) are arriving in Srinagar today to take stock of the situation in Pampore. The CRPF yesterday asserted that the two terrorists, who were neutralized in the gun-battle, appeared to be Pakistanis and were Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives. In the fierce gun-battle that took place yesterday evening, 24 CRPF jawans were also injured. The security personnel recovered arms and ammunition including 2 AK 47 Rifles, 11 hand grenades from the killed terrorists.