Militants attacked a CRPF convoy at Pampore on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on Saturday killing two jawans and injuring 10 others. They then sneaked into a nearby government building and triggered a stand off.
But a possible hostage situation was avoided when CRPF and local police managed to evacuate civilians who were holed up inside Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) building located at Pampore, on the outskirts of the city.
Damaged CRPF vehicle wch was attacked by militants b4 entering #EDI building in #pampore area of #Srinagar #Kashmir pic.twitter.com/SgPtEZyhfr
— Umar Ganie (@UmarGanie1) February 20, 2016
“We have been successful in evacuating the civilians from the building,” Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police K Rajendra told PTI.
All civilians evacuated from building at Pampore where an encounter is taking place: JK Police chief K Rajendra.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 20, 2016
One of those evacuated persons claimed that they were asked by militants to leave because they did not mean any harm to civilians.
Personnel of the Army, whose elite 15 Corps headquarters is located barely 10 kms from the encounter site, were rushed to the encounter site to assist the local police and the CRPF.
The number of militants, according to the eyewitness accounts, ranged from three to five. Before storming the EDI campus, militants fired on a CRPF convoy on Srinagar-Jammu road just outside the campus, officials said, adding, two para-military personnel lost their lives while another 10 were injured.
Among those injured includes a civilian whose condition is reported to be critical. Intermittent exchange of fire has been reported from the spot and the security personnel were ensuring a proper cordon and lighting arrangement at the encounter site to prevent the militants from escaping.
