Abid Bashir
Srinagar, Nov 1: Inspector General of Police Kashmir range Vijay Kumar on Sunday said that Hizbul Mujahideen’s chief operational commander for the Valley Dr Saifullah was killed in an encounter with the security forces at Rangreth in Srinagar outskirts while a suspect was also arrested, who is being questioned.
Talking to reporters at the encounter site, the Kashmir police chief said that on the basis of a specific lead, joint teams of police and CRPF laid a cordon at Rangreth area and later army also joined in the operation. “I am 95 per cent sure that the militant killed in the gunfight is Hizb chief operational commander Dr Saifullah who had taken over the reins of Hizb after the killing of its chief Reyaz Naikoo in an encounter in May this year,” the IGP said.
The IGP said a suspect and not the militant was arrested at the encounter site and he is being questioned. “The encounter is almost over. We are sanitizing the area and clearing it as there may be some leftover grenades etc,” he said.
The IGP said: “ Saifullah’s killing is a big success as he was the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit. He had taken over the control of the outfit after the killing of Reyaz Naikoo.”
