The CRPF on Thursday carried out a major anti-terror operation in Batmaloo in Srinagar in which three terrorists were killed and one commandant of CRPF’s quick action team (QAT) was critically injured while gunning down one of the militants.
Rahul Mathur was shot on his upper chest and abdomen. The CRPF official has been evacuated to the army hospital.
A civilian also lost her life in the cross fire.
The operation was planned based on a credible intelligence input regarding the presence of three terrorists in Firdousabad in Batmaloo, Srinagar. The QAT of the CRPF stationed in the valley under Narendra Yadav, second in command, and the Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir police jointly launched a cordon and search operation at 3am in the morning.
Fifteen minutes later, the party zeroed in on the target house, and upon finding the gate closed, a component of the CRPF under the command of Deputy Commandant Mathur scaled the wall and entered the house from the rear.
As Mathur and his buddy started tactically searching the rooms of the house, one of the terrorists, who was hiding inside, suddenly opened fire on the party.
Mathur, who was wounded, retaliated and gunned down the terrorist on the spot. The injured officer was immediately evacuated to 92 Base Hospital of Army in Srinagar, where he is in a critical condition.
Meanwhile, the operation continued and the target house was kept cordoned off as the firing paused for some time due to darkness. At first light, under supervision of senior officers on the spot, the joint room intervention teams of the CRPF and J&K police resumed the search and in the ensuing exchange of fire, two more terrorists were neutralised by the joint forces.
CRPF officials said that war-like stores were recovered from the possession of the slain terrorists.
Additional troops have been rushed to contain stone-pelting incidents at the spot. A constable of the CRPF, however, has been seriously injured in the stone-pelting.
CRPF officials said the operation has concluded and the situation has been brought under control as of now.
