Two militants killed, one arrested in Poonch encounter, says DGP Singh

Image for representational purpose only. (Source: The Hindu)

Two recently infiltrated non-local militants were killed and a local militant was arrested during an encounter in a village located on the Mughal Road, a highway connecting Poonch in the Pir Panjal valley with Shopian in south Kashmir, on Sunday.

"Two unidentified non-local terrorists were killed and one local militant from Shopian (in south Kashmir) was arrested, who is being questioned. They were offered to surrender, which they refused. In the operation, the duo was neutralised," Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said.

The encounter was triggered after the vehicle the militants were travelling in headed towards the Poshana area of Poonch, on the Poonch-Shopian highway, due to the fresh snowfall in the past 24 hours.

"The infiltrators were received by the local militant and was heading towards Shopian. Due to the snowfall, they got stranded and were trapped in a village. We had inputs about the suspicious movement in the area," DGP Singh said.

The DGP said the two militants were in touch with their handlers across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan. "We have established some details of the handlers too, who were giving them directions," DGP Singh said.
 He said the fact that Pakistan was pushing militants despite the snowfall showed it has grown desperate due to people's participation in the ongoing District Development Council (DDC) polls. "Pakistan is unnerved by the enthusiasm of voters shown in democracy and intend to disrupt the same," the police officer added