SRINAGAR – A video surfaced here today showing the mother of martyredHizbul Mujahideen commander Saddam Padder, who was among the five youthmartyred in an encounter with security forces yesterday, giving a gunsalute to her slain son in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The video surfaced on social media this morning. A pheran-clad woman,believed to be Padder’s mother, is seen pulling the trigger of a gun heldby a militant atop a building in the Heff area of Shopian.
Padder’s mother hugged the militant, Syed Naveed Mushtaq — a policedeserter who decamped with four rifles from a police post guarding the FoodCorporation of India facility in Budgam district last year — beforepulling the trigger of the automatic weapon.
A police official said the video is being investigated.
Five Hizbul Mujahideen youth including its top commander Saddam Padder anda fresh recruit, an assistant professor from the Kashmir University, werekilled in an encounter today in militancy-infested Shopian area in southKashmir even as five civilians died during clashes between protesters andsecurity forces near the encounter site, the police said.
The five martyred youth were identified as Saddam Hussain Padder, BilalAhmad Mohand, Adil Ahmed Malik, Tauseed Ahmad Sheikh and Mohammed RafiBhat, a PhD scholar and an assistant professor in the Kashmir University,they said.
Padder, who hailed from Heff in Shopian region, was active since September2014, while Malik was active since 2014 and Sheikh from 2013. Mohand wasactive since 2016 and the Kashmir University assistant professor had joinedthe terror group last Friday, officials said.
With Padder’s killing, all 10 militants, who appeared for the first timetogether along with Hizbul Mujahideen’s poster boy Burhan Wani in 2015,have been neutralised, officials said.
The picture of 10 Hizbul Mujahideen militants at an apple orchard hadcreated a stir in the valley as they were touted by insurgent groups as’Kashmir’s new boys’ who had taken up arms. Of the 10, Padder was the onlyone alive, police said.
Padder and his aides were involved in attacks on security forces besidesinstigating youth to join the terrorist network, police said.
Today’s encounter in Badigam comes within 24 hours of a swift policeoperation in Chattabal area of the city in which three militants weregunned down.
Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, S P Pani said repeated attempts weremade to persuade the assistent professor to surrender.
After receiving an input about his presence, we even brought his familyfrom Ganderbal to persuade him to surrender, Pani said.
“During the encounter, while handling a highly volatile situation,civilians were injured in cross firing and among them five succumbed totheir injuries. The condition of other injured persons are stated to bestable,” an official spokesperson said.
Police once against requested that encounter sites are prohibited zones andmust be avoided by civilians.
Three security personnel were injured and were undergoing treatment at ahospital, officials said.
Kashmir University suspended classes for two days from tomorrow as aprecautionary measure and postponed exams that were to be held tomorrow.
Mobile Internet services were snapped in south Kashmir districts andGanderbal in central Kashmir, while the facility remained barred inSrinagar for the second consecutive day today.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed anguish and griefover the death of five civilians.
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