JAMMU: Jammu & Kashmir Police have intensified the search for Lashkar-e-Taiba’s self-styled commander Mohammad Lateef Bhat, putting up wanted posters carrying his photograph at police checkposts and prominent public locations across the Kashmir Valley and Jammu division.
Police have announced a Rs 15 lakh cash reward for credible information leading to Bhat’s arrest and assured informers that their identities would be kept confidential.
Bhat is the prime accused in the targeted killing of a policeman in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district last month. The district is connected to Jammu’s Doda district through the Kapran-Desa route. Police also suspect Bhat’s involvement in the killing of two migrant workers in Kulgam district last week.
Bhat had reportedly escaped a security cordon during a five-day encounter in Shopian in which security forces killed senior Lashkar commander Zakir Ganai, an A++ category terrorist, on July 3.
The two militants had been hiding in an orchard, where their movements were captured by surveillance cameras, according to officials.
One Held, SUV Seized After Alleged Attempt to Run Over Cops in Ramban
RAMBAN: Police arrested one person and seized an SUV after its driver allegedly attempted to run over policemen manning a checkpoint on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway at Kunfer in Chanderkote early Friday.
Two other suspects who allegedly fled the scene were being searched for.
According to a police spokesperson, the incident occurred around 3.52am when officers signalled the SUV to stop for a routine check. The driver allegedly ignored repeated instructions and accelerated towards the checkpoint in an apparent attempt to hit the policemen.
Sensing the danger, Constable Rasal Chand fired three warning shots from his service rifle. The driver allegedly continued driving and escaped with two associates.
Police registered an FIR at Chanderkote police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and launched an investigation.
A joint team comprising the Army, Ramban Police, the Special Operations Group and the CRPF conducted a search operation and arrested one of the suspects, identified as Altaf Mohammad of Udhampur. The SUV was subsequently seized.
Police said no terror link had emerged in the case so far.
The investigating officer and the district mobile forensic unit examined the scene and collected evidence. Further investigation is underway.
