Burqa-clad man captured in dramatic shootout in Pulwama 

Two civilians injured; knife, grenade seized from vehicle 

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz 

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SRINAGAR, Oct 16: Police on Friday claimed to have seized alive a burqa-clad militant operative, alongwith a large size knife and a hand grenade, even as two to three militants managed to escape and two civilians sustained injuries in the shootout at district headquarters of Pulwama in southern Kashmir.

Residents and passengers of different destination gave conflicting versions as some of them maintained that the two civilians got injured in the Police firing and others claimed that they were hit in the firing from suspected militants. That the town of violent reactions remained calm after the firing, was an indication that the men who fired and escaped were militants.

Senior Superintendent of Police Pulwama Tejinder Singh told STATE TIMES that Special Operations Group of Pulwama District Police launched an operation to track the militants when it received information that three to four of them were in suspicious movement from Arihal to Pulwama. 

"Our men got suspicious about one particular Tata-Sumo in General Bus Stand and began questioning some passengers on board. They asked the passengers to come down for checking. A burqa-clad women with a male commuter responded to the command without reluctance. The SOG men got suspicious about another burqa-clad commuter on the front seat. They asked the passenger to come out and found him a male. Suddenly, one of the two or three militants from behind another Sumo opened fire from one AK-47 rifle. Our men ducked and took a shield but two middle-aged passengers sustained gunshot wounds. Police failed to retaliate for fear of civilian casualties and all the militants escaped", SSP said.

Singh said that the burqa-clad male was captured alive with a long size knife. A grenade fell from his hand or pocket which was also seized. He later identified himself as Tariq Ahmad Sheikh of Drachhu, a village bordering Pulwama and Shopian districts. With a "superficial gunshot injury", he was rushed to a Srinagar hospital for treatment. 

"Doctors described him as stable but we decided to interrogate him only next morning, after his complete recovery. He is currently under treatment in Srinagar. Other two civilians were treated at District Hospital of Pulwama. One was hit in his foot and another in her arm. They were identified as Riyaz Ahmad Khan and Rahti of Arihal village", SSP said.

DIG South Kashmir Nitish Kumar said that Police had launched an investigation. He said that the escapees were believed to be the local cadres of Hizbul Mujahideen. "It seems that on induction of one or two fresh recruits, militants had planned to attack a Policeman or CRPF cop to snatch away his gun. Things will become clear by tomorrow", DIG said.

Yet another Police official revealed that the Tata Sumo driver narrated the whole story during interrogation. He revealed that three militants and a fresh recruit had boarded the Pulwama-bound Sumo at Arihal. They disembarked at Pulwama. The driver got suspicious and after a while he was sure that the burqa-clad passenger on the front seat was a male after he paid cash of Rs 60 as fair. After 15 to 20 minutes, all the four suspected militants came back towards the same vehicle. Three of them behind another vehicle attempted to kill the SOG men when they were asking the burqa-clad passenger on the front seat to come out.

"After his sustained questioning tomorrow we may be able to say whether the detained person was a regular militant or just an overground worker. We have registered an FIR", DIG said. 

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[Published in today's STATE TIMES ]