Pulwama encounter: South Kashmir DIG, lieutenant colonel sustain injuries in gunfight with militants

At least six security personnel, including a lieutenant colonel and a deputy inspector general, were injured in the gunbattle in Pulwama’s Pinglan area, about 12 kilometres from where a suicide bomber belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammed drove his explosives-laden vehicle into a CRPF bus last week, killing 40 jawans. Deputy Inspector-General of Police, South Kashmir range, Amit Kumar, sustained injuries in the  ongoing gunfight . Reports about his injury came hours after two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists, including Abdul Rasheed Ghazi alias Kamran who is believed to have masterminded the attack on the CRPF convoy in Pulwama on 14 February, were killed. The injured include Amit Kumar, who received a gunshot wound in the abdomen, and a brigade commander, who was hurt in the leg. [caption id=“attachment_6105801” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Visuals from the encounter in Pulwama. ANI[/caption] The names of the army personnel injured were not immediately known. All the injured are stable, officials said. The Pinglan encounter claimed the lives four Army personnel, two Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists and a civilian, officials said. In the encounter at Pulwama, four army soldiers, including a Major rank officer, lost their lives, and three armymen, including a Lieutenant Colonel, were injured. A civilian is also reported to have been killed in the ensuing gunfight. The four army personnel killed in the encounter are Major V S Dhondial, Havaldar Sheo Ram and Sepoys Hari Singh and Ajay Kumar. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation during the night after receiving inputs about the presence of militants in the area, a police official recounted. Militants fired at forces as the searches got under way, triggering a gun battle, officials said. The Jaish has claimed responsibility for the 14 February terror attack that targeted a convoy of 78 vehicles on its way from Jammu to Srinagar. About 2,500 CRPF personnel were on their way to the Valley, many returning to work after leave. With inputs from PTI