A Lashker-e-Taiba terrorist named Asif Maqbool Bhatt was gunned down in an encounter after he hurled grenades that left two police personnel injured
Srinagar: Police said a Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist involved in a recent attack on a fruit merchant's home in Sopore was gunned down by security forces in the Jammu and Kashmir town, after an encounter broke out when security forces, acting on specific information, launched a search and cordon operation in the town to flush him out.
The terrorist who was killed in a brief encounter in Sopore in the valley's Baramulla district is identified as LeT's Asif Maqbool Bhatt, police stated.
A grenade blast at the encounter site left two police personnel injured. The personnel are reportedly out of danger
"He (Asif) was challenged to stop but he didn't. He threw a grenade at our parties in which two of our police personnel were injured. They are out of danger," Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh told reporters.
He said Bhatt had created terror in Sopore.
"Over the last one month he was very active. He made use of overground workers to print posters threatening civilians to not open shops and not go about their day-to-day activities", he added
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Bhatt was responsible for a recent attack on the home of a fruit trader in Sopore, police said, adding that three members of Hamidullah Rather's family, including his toddler granddaughter, were injured in the attack.
Upon not finding the intended victim at home when they went to his residence, the two men shot at and injured his family members.
Police stated that Bhatt was also responsible for shooting at a migrant labourer, Shafi Aaalam, in Sopore.
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With PTI inputs
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