According to police officials, the suspected shooter of teacher Rajni Bala, who was killed outside her classroom two weeks ago, is believed to be trapped in an anti-terrorist operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
This is the valley’s second encounter in the last 12 hours. Earlier, authorities said one of two Lashkar-e-Toiba members killed in a confrontation in Shopian district on Tuesday night was involved in the recent targeted killing of a bank manager.
Two terrorists are alleged to be holed up in an orchard area in Mishipora village in Kulgam, where security forces have been conducting operations since Tuesday evening. Gunshots were heard early Wednesday morning, but there is no official confirmation that any terrorists were killed or apprehended.
Both of the holed-up terrorists, according to police sources, are local recruits. The work is taking longer than predicted due to the large orchard area and dense vegetation, it has been learned.
On May 31, Rajni Bala, a Jammu resident, was fatally murdered outside her workplace, Government High School, Gopalpora, in the Kulgam district.
On June 2, a terrorist stormed Elaqaie Dihati Bank in Kulgam district, killing Vijay Kumar, a Rajasthan-born bank manager. A surveillance camera caught the shooting.
Target killings have triggered terror psychosis in Hindus and Kashmiri Pandit employees, who have been refusing to work for the past month.
Since January of this year, more than 100 terrorists, the majority of whom were local recruits, have been murdered, according to authorities. The figure is more than double what it was in the same time previous year. While the execution of these terrorists is hailed as a great victory for the security forces, it also serves as a sobering reminder of the valley’s growing militancy.
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