Security forces deny Hizbul commander's surrender

In a U-turn, senior police and army officers denied that any Hizbul commander had surrendered before the security forces on Saturday.

Denying earlier reports that Tariq Pandit, a close associate of Burhan Wani, the most wanted Hizbul commander in south Kashmir, had surrendered before the security forces, Colonel N.N. Joshi, the Srinagar-based defence spokesman, told reporters here: "Reports of Tariq's surrender are absolutely baseless."

Earlier some senior police officers and even defence sources had individually confirmed to media that Tariq Pandit, a commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) outfit had surrendered before the security forces.

It was said that Pandit's surrender before the security forces was a big blow to militancy as he had been seen in pictures uploaded on social media with Burhan Wani wielding weapons and wearing army fatigues.

--IANS

sq/pgh/vm