The joint announcement was made after security forces arrested three local terrorists
The Indian Army, Jammu And Kashmir Police and CRPF on Thursday announced that they would give a chance to local terrorists in Kashmir if they are willing to abandon terrorism and join the mainstream. The joint announcement was made after security forces arrested three local terrorists during an operation in Kulgam district.
One of the three captured terrorists is Shamsul Vikar, a cricketer and student of a prominent school in Kashmir. Shamsul was arrested with three rifles when he was trying to flee in a vehicle.
"Our offer to take arrest and accept surrender is there even during fierce encounters. We appeal local militants to come back, shun militancy and Join mainstream" said Zulfikar Hassan, the Inspector General of the Central Reserve Police Force or CRPF.
Shamsul Vikar, 19 had become a terrorist in March this year. His picture had surfaced on social media a few days back, showing him with an assault rifle inside a stadium in Anantnag.
"We could have killed the terrorists after we lost an army
jawan during the encounter. But we captured him alive," said Munir Khan, IGP Kashmir.
He said one of the captured terrorists was injured during the encounter and the security forces shifted him to a hospital to treat his injuries.
Sources say Shamsul Vikar had managed to break the security cordon and tried to flee in a vehicle when he was intercepted by a party of 118 Battalion of Jammu And Kashmir Armed Police in Anantnag. Three rifles were recovered from his possession.
"He didn't fire when he was intercepted. We arrested him and handed him over to district police Kulgam" said a cop involved in the operation.
Jammu And Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has recently announced the doubling of reward money for security forces who take arrests and the surrender of local terrorists instead of killing them during encounters. Officials say killing local terrorists is proving to be a zero sum game since every killing leads to more local boys joining terrorism.