Kashmiri militants can surrender even during gunfights: Police

The Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Monday that surrenders by local militants will be accepted even if these are made during gun battles with security forces.

Addressing the media with officials of the Army and the CRPF, Inspector General of Police Munir Khan said: "We again appeal to local militants to surrender and start living a normal life. Our full support will be available to such local militants who lay down their arms.

"Even if they surrender during encounters with the security forces, we are ready to accept such surrenders," he said.

Khan also gave details of the progress made by the security forces in fighting militancy and cracking cases in which militants were involved.

He said on Saturday, security forces arrested two motorcycle-borne LeT militants who tried to snatch weapons from the guards of a VIP in Qazigund in Anantnag district.

"We also arrested a Gulzar Ahmad Dar who had hurled a grenade immediately after the cavalcade of the Roads and Buildings Minister passed through Tral town on September 28," he said. Three people were killed in that attack and 30 others were injured.

The arrested militant, who belonged to the Jaish-e-Muhammad outfit, had also hurled a grenade in Tral on December 5, 2014 in which five civilians were killed.

An overground worker of the Hizbul Mujahideen in Kulgam, Rameez Itoo, had taken the militants to carry out the attack on a police vehicle in Kulgam on October 14 which killed a constable, Khurshid Ahmad, Khan said.

The officer accused Hizbul militants of carrying out bank robberies in Marhama (Anantnag) and Shopian.

"The Hizbul Mujahideen has denied any involvement in the bank robberies but through the CCTV footage at the bank branches, Hizbul terrorists who carried out the robberies have been identified," he said.

Answering questions on braid chopping incidents in the Kashmir Valley, Khan said scientific evidence was being collected but added that people "generally do not cooperate with the police during the investigations of these incidents".

He vehemently denied that anyone from the police or any other security force was involved in the braid chopping incidents.

--IANS

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