Six more militants killed in two encounters in J-K
Srinagar: Six more militants were killed in two separate encounters with security forces in Pulwama and Shopian districts of Jammu and Kashmir, taking the number of ultras killed in the overnight operations to eight, officials said.
While two militants were killed in the Pulwama encounter, four were killed in Shopian operation on Friday, the officials said.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation at Meej in Pampore area of Pulwama, in South Kashmir, on Thursday morning after receiving specific information about the presence of militants there, a police official said.
He said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants fired upon a search party of the forces.
One militant was killed in the gunfight on Thursday, but two more ultras entered a nearby mosque to take refuge inside it, the official said.
He said the cordon around the mosque was maintained throughout the night.
On Friday morning, security forces used tear smoke shells to force the holed up militants out of the mosque, the officials said, adding the two were then killed by the forces while maintaining the sanctity of the religious place.
In total, three militants were killed in the operation. Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said no firing or IED was used to force the militants out of the Mosque.
"Patience and professionalism worked. No use of firing and IED. Used tear smoke shells only. Maintained sanctity of the mosque. Both terrorists hiding inside mosque neutralised," the IGP said.
In another anti-militancy operation at Munand-Bandpava area of Shopian, which also began on Thursday, four more militants were killed on Friday morning, defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said.
The forces had launched the operation there after receiving intelligence inputs about the presence of militants there.
While one militant was killed in the operation there on Thursday, four more were gunned down on Friday, Col Kalia said, taking the number of ultras killed in the encounter to five.
In total, eight militants were killed in these two overnight operations in the last 24 hours. The IGP Kashmir has congratulated the security forces in Kashmir for killing 100 militants in the valley this year so far.
"IGP Kashmir Shri Vijay Kumar #congratulates Team Kashmir" for completing a #century on the front of #AntiTerrorist operations. @JmuKmrPolice," Kashmir Zone Police said in a tweet.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
19-yr-old woman found hanging from tree in UP village; juvenile held
Lucknow/Pratapgarh (UP) (PTI): Police have apprehended a 16-year-old boy for his alleged involvement in the rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman whose body was found hanging from a tree in a village here, officials said on Monday.
Additional Superintendent of Police (West), Brijnandan Rai, said that the body of a 19-year-old woman was found hanging from a tree in an orchard in the Manikpur police station area on Sunday morning. A post-mortem examination subsequently confirmed that she had been raped.
Police registered a case against unidentified persons under sections 103(1) (punishment for murder) and 70(1) (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and initiated an investigation.
During the course of the investigation, the police found that the deceased was in contact with a juvenile who was also her relative.
Acting on this information, during a joint checking operation, sub-inspector Amit Kumar Singh of Manikpur police station and SOG In-charge Amit Kumar Chaurasia, along with their team, apprehended the 16-year-old near the Lehdari Ganga River bridge.
The search for other accused persons is ongoing, police said.
According to the police, the woman had gone to sleep after dinner on Saturday night but was found hanging in an orchard nearly 400 metres away from her home the following morning.
Additional Superintendent of Police (West), Brijnandan Rai, had earlier said that the circumstances suggest foul play.
"The victim's slippers and undergarments were recovered 50 metres away from the spot where the body was found. There are visible injury marks on her body," Rai said.
While locals have alleged that the woman was murdered after being raped, the ASP said that it is "prima facie a case of murder."
"Based on the complaint filed by the victim's brother, a case of murder has been registered against unidentified persons," the officer added.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, in a post on X in Hindi on Monday, said, "The news of the heinous murder of a Dalit daughter in Pratapgarh is deeply tragic and condemnable."
"The question remains: why does the spate of murders of 'PDA daughters' continue unabated in Uttar Pradesh? Are the BJP government's claims regarding women's safety merely hollow rhetoric, or is there, in fact, discrimination even in the provision of security for women?" he said.
"Whenever the 'wandering Honourable (ghumantu maananiye)' finds a moment of respite from election campaigning, he should cast a glance at the plight of the daughters of his own Uttar Pradesh. In any case, apart from injustice and oppression, no sister, daughter, or mother of this state holds any hope from you," Yadav added.
