Terrorist involved in murder of workers, doctor in J&K's Ganderbal shot dead

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A terrorist who was involved in the killing of six workers and a doctor at a housing camp of a private company in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal was shot dead by the security forces in an encounter.


The terrorist, Junaid Ahmed Bhat, was from the Pakistan-origin Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group, sources said.


He was also involved in terror attacks in Gagangir and other locations, sources said.


The cordon and search operation (CASO) that led to the encounter was carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir Police.


"A Lashkar terrorist identified as Junaid Ahmed Bhat, who was listed as 'A; category terrorist, was eliminated. He was involved in killing civilians at Gagangir, Ganderbal and several other areas," a senior police officer told News Agency.


The officer said Bhat was a resident of Kulgam. He had gone missing a year ago, and surfaced on CCTV carrying an AK series assault rifle during the Ganderbal attack.


Security has been tightened in Dachhigam forest area after the CASO began. Dachhigam is a national park on the outskirts of Srinagar.


After Bhat was seen on CCTV, Intelligence agencies were concerned over the likelihood of a large number of local residents joining terror groups in Kashmir valley again.


Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a high-level security meeting with senior police officers and bureaucrats.


The police have detained two women terror associates under the Public Safety Act. Terror associates are "overground workers", meaning they blend in with the civilian population but work for terror groups.


The two women have been identified as Maryama Begum and Arshad Begum.


The police in a statement said the two terror associates were found to be involved in giving logistics support to terrorist groups and working as guide and facilitator for terrorist organisations. Their continuous actions posed a serious risk to public safety and tranquility, the police said.


"To prevent further criminal activities detrimental to the security of the state and keeping in view their activities both were ordered to be detained under PSA," the statement said.