South Kashmir witnessed yet another bloodbath today after five militants were killed in an encounter and five civilians died in clashes with security forces.
Mohammad Rafi, one of the five militants killed in an encounter at Badigam, Shopian, was an Assistant Professor of Sociology in Kashmir University, while another militant, Saddam Paddar, was the last remaining militant from the 11-member Burhan Wani group.
Wani, a popular young Hizbul Mujahideen commander, was killed on July 8, 2016, which sparked an uprising that year in which more than 100 youth died and thousands were injured.
Rafi,32, a resident of Chunduna, Ganderbal, had joined Hizbul Mujahideen only two days back.
SSP Shopian Shailendra Kumar Mishra appealed to the militants to surrender but they spurned the offer and preferred to fight.
A policeman and a soldier of 44 Rashtriya Riffles were also injured in the encounter.
“The holed up terrorists fired heavily on the search party. Security forces in their guarded response fired back,'' a police spokesman said. ''Meanwhile, police made repeated attempts to make the hiding terrorists surrender. In the process, family members and nearby community headmen were also roped in vain to surrender them.”
“You stop firing and come out. For God's sake stop firing, you will get nothing from out. I am SSP Shopian talking,” Mishra said on a public address system.
The holed up militants responded with a barrage of fire to Mishra's appeal for surrender.
“During the encounter five ultras of outlawed Hizbul Mujhadeen were neutralised”, a police spokesman said.
The slain militants were identified as Saddam Paddar, Bilal Moulvi, Adil Malik, Tawseef Sheikh and Mohommad Rafi Bhat.
The encounter led to clashes between police and protesters who wanted to rescue the militants. Intense clashes led the death of five civilians in police and CRPF firing.
The protesters blocked roads and pelted stones on the security forces who first fired smoke shells and then opened fire.
Hospital sources said that some of the injured are in critical stage.
“It sounds very depressing to note that our State is losing young lives to the unending cycle of violence,'' said Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in a statement.
She said today’s deaths have brought a stark fact to fore that gun, either way of a militant or that of security forces, is no solution for resolving issues. ''I have reiterated it time and again that political issues need political interventions,” she said.
The separatist Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) reacted to the killings by extending the shutdown by another day and called on people to march to the civil secretariat to stage a sit-in till “carnage is stopped”.
“As the darbar (bi-annual shifting of government headquarters) of the rulers who preside over our massacres and murders will open in Srinagar, leadership, and people including lawyers, traders, transporters, doctors, government employees journalists and others will move towards the civil secretariat at around 12pm and stage a peaceful dharna till the perpetrators do not agree to put an end to the daily carnage,'' said JRL.