Major among 4
soldiers killed,
4 militants also
gunned down
Srinagar PTI
Four army men, including a Major, and an equal number of militants were on Tuesday killed while 8 other security personnel and a civilian were injured in two separate encounters in Kashmir, officials said.
In an encounter in Kralgund area of north Kashmir's Kupwara district this evening, security forces gunned down three militants hiding in a residential house, a police official said.
Major S Dahiya was injured in the encounter and later succumbed to his injuries, the official said.
Earlier, an encounter took place in Parray Mohalla of Hajin area of Bandipora district this morning.
The gun battle erupted after security forces cordoned off the area following information about presence of militants there, the police official said.
As the security forces were closing in, they came under fire from the hiding militants, the official said, adding 10 security personnel, including an officer,were injured in this.
Of them, three personnel succumbed to their injuries later, the official said.
One militant, whose identity has not been ascertained yet, was also killed in the operation, he added.
The two encounters took place two days after four militants and two soldiers were killed in a gunbattle in south Kashmir's Kulgam district. Two civilians were also killed in that encounter.
Meanwhile, CRPF Commanding Officer Chetan Kumar Cheetah, who was grievously injured in encounter on Tuesday with militants in North Kashmir, was airlifted to AIIMS after his condition deteriorated.
Hailing from Rajasthan, Cheetah bore the initial brunt of the attack in Hajjan area where a joint team of army, CRPF and state police had laid a seize following an intelligence input that two foreign terrorists were hiding in the area.
He was shifted to Army Base hospital in Srinagar but upon seeing his condition, which required expertise from various fields of medicine including neurology, a decision was taken to shift him to Delhi, officials said.
Special Director General of CRPF SN Shrivastava, who looks after Jammu and Kashmir, immediately requisitioned an air ambulance to shift him to the national capital, they said.
After the encounter, Shrivastava, who is posted in Jammu, rushed to the spot to boost the morale of his officers and jawans, they said.
45-year-old Cheetah, who commands 45th Battalion of the CRPF, had received gunshot wounds in his eye, hands, waist and pelvic region, they added.
