ELECTION 99
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Police kill most wanted man in valley

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

Less than 48 hours after militants attacked its headquarters, the Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir has killed the most wanted militant in the valley, Abu Muawiah.

Muawiah heads the Lashkar-e-Toiba, a frontline militant outfit, in Kashmir. He has been active in the valley since 1992, and masterminded the recent attack on the 15 Corps headquarters in Srinagar.

State Director General of Police Gurbachan Jagat said that on specific information the SOG, accompanied by Border Security Force personnel, killed Muawiah at a hideout in Shankarpora on the outskirts of Srinagar.

"He is a Pakistani national," the police chief told rediff.com in an exclusive interview. "He headed the LeT for a long time and masterminded many assaults on security forces."

The Lashkar, for its part, has not issued any statements about the incident.

Jagat did not agree that the assault on the SOG headquarters was a serious setback. "We are fighting a war in Kashmir," he countered. "We are not fighting a gang of criminals. There is a whole country behind them sending foreign nationals and arms. In war such things do take place. But we will hit back soon."

He reiterated that a large number of militants had sneaked into the valley during the Kargil conflict. "But we will be carrying out good operations during the coming months to neutralise them," he said.

The police chief was annoyed with the media for giving prominence to the recent assaults on security camps. "One or two militants can manage to sneak inside since the camps are very large," he justified.

The government, he was quick to add, was, of course, taking these attacks seriously. He said a small group of foreign militants -- Fidayeen (death squads), as it is known -- was the one behind such incidents. "Their task is to penetrate security camps."

Jagat had personally supervised the rescue operation of nearly 100 SOG commandos and Central Reserve Police Force personnel from the headquarters.

"The SOG is re-grouping and we will mount further pressure," he said.

Giving details of Monday's assault on the SOG complex, he said a couple of militants in police uniforms with external support entered the complex from the main gate, shooting dead two CRPF jawans including the sentry. They later hurled grenades and opened fire, thus creating confusion and panic. They then rushed up and took positions on the upper story.

The SOG and CRPF cordoned off the complex after they re-grouped. Later, the army too was deployed. The operation ended when the militants were killed on Tuesday evening.

"The effort of the enemy is to create problems," Jagat said. "The hijacking is part of that plan."

Tell us what you think of this report