Cop killed, 2 officers injured as encounter breaks out in J&K ahead of phase-3 polls-Read

Fierce gunfight breaks out with terrorists in a remote village in Kathua district of poll-bound Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu: A policeman was killed and two officers were injured Saturday in a fierce gunfight with terrorists in a remote village in the Kathua district of poll-bound Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

The encounter at Kog-Mandli in Billawar tehsil occurred amid heightened security arrangements in the district which goes to poll in the third and final phase on October 1 along with Jammu, Udhampur, Samba, Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara.

Jammu Zone Additional Director General of Police Anand Jain and senior officers have rushed to the scene to supervise the operation, the officials said.

“During the ongoing encounter in village Kog (Mandli), one police personnel, Head Constable Bashir Ahmed, has sacrificed his life, and one ASI has sustained bullet injuries,” a police spokesperson said.

According to security officials, a deputy superintendent of police (operations) was also injured in the encounter. The exchange of fire started around 5.30 pm when security forces launched a joint cordon and search operation in the forested village following information about the presence of a group of terrorists inside a house, the officials said.

Two terrorists killed
Meanwhile, two unidentified terrorists were killed and five security personnel, including an officer, sustained injuries in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, police said on Saturday.

The gunbattle broke out in Adigam village in the Devsar area of the district after security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation there early in the morning.

In the early exchange of fire, Additional Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Mumtaz Ali suffered minor injuries due to a stray bullet near the encounter site, officials said.