J-K Police honours 3 civilians for helping catch terrorist

The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday honoured three civilians for helping nab a terrorist who was running away from the site of a gunbattle with security forces on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway here in which three JeM militants were killed.

Three aides of the terrorists, including their handler Sameer Ahmad Dar, were arrested and shifted to a safer location for sustained questioning as they were part of a JeM plot to cause widespread disturbances in the Valley, police said.

Sameer Dar is the cousin Adil Dar, who had rammed an explosive-laden SUV into a bus carrying CRPF personnel in Lethpora area of Pulwama district on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway, killing 40 troops, in February last year. Sameer's brother, Manzoor Malik, a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant, was killed in south Kashmir in 2016.

Superintendent of Police (SP), Rural, Suran Singh and other officers honoured Avinash Sharma, Kewal Sharma and Satnam Singh at the Nagrota police station for their contribution, officials said.

These civilians played an important role in apprehending one terrorist who was trying to escape towards Kashmir when the encounter started between terrorists and security forces at the Ban toll Plaza, Singh said.

They were awarded a cash prize of Rs 5,000 each as a token of appreciation, the police said.