The dead body of ‘militant’ allegedly responsible for attack on a police party at Mirgund Pattan a few days back was recovered by locals from Gulabwari Naidkah Sumbal canal on Monday morning. Eyewitnesses told CNS that locals found the dead body of a youth and immediately informed the police. A police party from Sumbal police arrived on spot and during frisking, a pistol according to police was recovered from his possession that was hidden underneath his clothes.
Soon after the recovery of the dead body, a word spread in the town that the body resembles to expelled Hizb commander Qayoom Najar, however the brother of the Najar who resides in Mumkak Sopore put a stop to these rumours when he said that it is not the body of Najar. “Last time I had seen my brother was 2006. I don’t know now he he looks like but the body recovered with pistol at Naidkhai is not the body of my brother,” he told CNS.
DIG North Kashmir Gareeb Das told CNS that after conducting postmortem, investigations revealed that it was the body of a ‘dreaded’ militant Tariq Ahmed Mir son of Muhammad Sultan, a resident of Adoora Mawar area of Langate Handwara. “Tariq, a close aide of Qayoom Najar, the militant responsible for mobile tower attack was a dreaded militant and was active in North Kashmir from past many years. It has been confirmed now that it was Tariq and Qayoom Najar who attacked police party at Mirgund in Pattan town,” Das said. Elaborating, Das said that soon after the attack on police party at Mirgund, government forces jointly cordoned off Gohal Tengapora hamlet in Sumbal. “As we approached in the area, two youth after seeing us jumped into the Ferozpor Nallah. We didn’t open up fire as we mistook them as civilians. There was a reason to believe that they were civilians as they didn’t fire upon us,” Das said.
He said that Tariq Mir is one of the two militants who jumped into the river near Gohal area after attacking police party at Mirgund checkpoint. “He might have failed to cross the river,” he said.DIG North Kashmir said that Tariq was responsible for the killing of two policemen in Pothkhaw Sopore and during election time, he also killed a policeman in Handwara. He along with Qayoom Najar was also responsible for recent tower attacks in North Kashmir.Meanwhile, the family members of Tariq Ahmed Mir who were informed by police for identification of the dead body confirmed that body is of Tariq. (CNS)