Srinagar: Abu Dujana, the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist killed in Kashmir on Tuesday, refused to surrender during what is believed to be an officer's phone call when he was cornered in a house surrounded by security forces.
In the nine-minute audio of his last phone conversation, Dujana said he had considered his parents dead since he left them.
"Kabhi hum aage aap peechhe, kabhi aap aage hum peechhe, aaj aapne pakad liya, mubarak ho aapko (sometimes I am ahead, sometimes you are ahead. Today you have caught me, congratulations," Dujana is heard telling the officer, who seems focused on coaxing the terrorist out.
Pakistan-born Dujana was visiting one of many women friends when security forces circled the village, tipped off by policemen who had been tracking him. After a gunbattle that erupted before daybreak, the forces blew up the house.
Sources say the officer asked a local to dial Dujana before taking over. "How are you?" Dujana greeted, strange in the circumstances.
The officer replied: "Forget how I am...Why aren't you surrendering?...You know how bad it is now...Everything is a game...Think about your parents."
Dujana says "My ma-baap (parents) died the day I left them."
The officer replies: "But you are not dead to them. You surrender, I will help you."
He presses on: "Unless you come out and explain to people, there will be blood-letting. Who will persuade these people? Unless you speak up, Kashmiris will keep getting killed..."
"I didn't start the bloodshed...I know the whole game," the terrorist returns.
This is not Jihad, urges the officer.
Unmoved and cold to the officer's counsel, Dujana cuts off the line, saying: "Achha theek hai yaar (ok then)."
Dujana had plotted major attacks - at least three dozen - and was a key recruiter for the Lashkar-e-Taiba until he was sidelined recently. Designated a category "A++" terrorist, he carried a reward of Rs. 15 lakh. The police described him as "ruthless" and an escape artiste who had managed to slip away several times. A terror commander since 2015, Dujana was to head back to Pakistan soon.
The army and the police said it was his weakness for women that finally did him in.
"We tried to make him surrender, but he refused, his killing is a great setback to militancy" K Nauriyal, Commanding Officer, 55 Rashtriya Rifles told NDTV.
In the nine-minute audio of his last phone conversation, Dujana said he had considered his parents dead since he left them.
"Kabhi hum aage aap peechhe, kabhi aap aage hum peechhe, aaj aapne pakad liya, mubarak ho aapko (sometimes I am ahead, sometimes you are ahead. Today you have caught me, congratulations," Dujana is heard telling the officer, who seems focused on coaxing the terrorist out.
Sources say the officer asked a local to dial Dujana before taking over. "How are you?" Dujana greeted, strange in the circumstances.
Advertisement
Dujana says "My ma-baap (parents) died the day I left them."
Advertisement
He presses on: "Unless you come out and explain to people, there will be blood-letting. Who will persuade these people? Unless you speak up, Kashmiris will keep getting killed..."
Advertisement
This is not Jihad, urges the officer.
Advertisement
Dujana had plotted major attacks - at least three dozen - and was a key recruiter for the Lashkar-e-Taiba until he was sidelined recently. Designated a category "A++" terrorist, he carried a reward of Rs. 15 lakh. The police described him as "ruthless" and an escape artiste who had managed to slip away several times. A terror commander since 2015, Dujana was to head back to Pakistan soon.
Advertisement
"We tried to make him surrender, but he refused, his killing is a great setback to militancy" K Nauriyal, Commanding Officer, 55 Rashtriya Rifles told NDTV.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Jammu Railway Station On High Alert After Terror Threat Bomb, Letter Vowing Revenge For Lashkar Terrorist Found On Train In UP Take Lashkar Terrorist Abu Dujana's Body, Pakistan High Commission Told "Biggest Breach": Thousands Of Pagers Explode In Lebanon, Target Hezbollah Video: Leopard Spotted Crossing Road In Bengaluru's Electronic City AAP Asks Its Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal To Quit Over Atishi Remarks 3 Children Crushed Under Tractor Carrying Ganesh Idol In Maharashtra: Cops "No U-Turns By Modi Government, Only Responsiveness": Piyush Goyal Exclusive How PM's Birthplace Vadnagar Shaped His Early Days, Documentary Reveals Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.