Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 19: After seven days of exchange of fire and martyrdom of four security personnel, the anti-terrorist operation in Anantnag sector in Jammu and Kashmir ended on Tuesday with the killing of two terrorists in the Gadool hills.
Two militants, including a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) ‘commander’ Uzair Khan and another terrorist were found dead at the Anantnag encounter site, the Additional Director General of Police, Jammu and Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said on Tuesday. Four security personnel, including two army officers and a police officer, lost their lives in the gunfight while the body of a soldier Sepoy Pradip Singh who was “missing” from the first day, was also recovered on Monday.
J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha laid a wreath and paid homage to Sepoy Singh. “A grateful nation will always remain indebted to his martyrdom. The entire nation stands firmly with his family in this hour of grief,” L-G Sinha said.
The combing operation in the area, however, continued as the entire area was being sanitised, the police added. The locals in the Gadool hill have been advised by the police to “not go closer to the encounter site as unexploded grenades or shells may cause harm to them.”
“There is a huge area that remains to be searched. There can be a lot of unexploded shells which will be recovered and destroyed. We appeal to the people not to go to the area,” he added. The ADGP said security forces had reports that two to three terrorists were there. “There is a possibility that the third dead body may be somewhere. It will be known after the search is complete,” Mr Kumar said.
“Till now, LeT commander Uzair Khan’s body has been recovered. The dead body of another terrorist is visible, but it has not been possible to retrieve it yet,” the ADGP told reporters in Anantnag.
“Uzair Khan [of the LeT] has been killed and his body has been retrieved. There is another body lying on the ground. We had information about the presence of two to three terrorists in the area,” Vijay Kumar said. Mr Kumar said it was Khan who was behind the killing of an Army Colonel, a Major and a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) on the first day of the gunfight on September 13.
Colonel Manpreet Singh, commanding officer, 19 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Ashish Dhonchak, deputy superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir Police Humayun Bhat and Sepoy Pradip Singh were the four casualties India suffered in the operation.
Officials had said earlier that drone footage showed a charred body near one of the terrorist hideouts destroyed during the operation. Security forces have been using drones and helicopters to survey the dense forest area with several cave-like hideouts where terrorists are believed to have been holed up since Wednesday.
On Sunday, the security cordon was extended to the neighbouring Posh Kreeri area as a precautionary measure to ensure the terrorists don’t slip into civilian areas.
Addressing a function late on Sunday evening, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said every drop of blood of the slain security personnel will be avenged and the terrorist handlers will have to pay a heavy price. “We have complete faith in our soldiers…. The entire nation stands in solidarity with the jawans,” Sinha said.
Top officials of the security grid in Kashmir, including the director general of police (DGP) and general officer commanding (GOC) of the Army’s 15 Corps, have been monitoring the operation.
Uzair Khan, a resident of Nagam in Anantnag, had gone missing in July last year to join the militant group. He dropped out of school in his Class 12 and then did a course in electrical work. Uzair Khan used to work as an electrician in the village.
The Gadool operation was one of the longest anti-terrorist operation in Kashmir in more than a decade. The Army used high-tech gadgets, rocket fire and heavy mortar shelling to flush out the militants and hit the hideouts on the hill. Besides four casualties, the seven-day operation also saw two soldiers injured.
