Two terrorists, allegedly involved in killing of a BJP leader and his relatives last year, were killed in a gunfight with police and security forces in J&K’s Bandipora on Sunday after they refused to surrender and opened fire instead, officials said.

Police said on the Saturday evening, Bandipora police received an input regarding presence of terrorists in the general area of village Watrina area of Bandipora.

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“The input so received was further developed technically and through human intel, after which a CASO (cordon and search operation) was launched by police, 14 RR and CRPF in the said area and contact with the hiding terrorists was established in the morning hours.

“During the operation, the holed-up terrorists were given repeated opportunities to surrender, but refused to surrender and instead fired indiscriminately upon the joint search party, which was retaliated leading to an encounter,” a police officer said.

In the ensuing encounter, two terrorists were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the site. They have been identified as Azad Ahmad Shah and Abid Rashid Dar alias Haqani affiliated with proscribed terror outfit LeT.

Dar was Pakistani trained terrorist who had crossed over the Wagah Border in April 2018 and had infiltrated back in 2019.

As per police records, both the terrorists were involved in planning and executing terror attacks on security establishments and civilian killings. Moreover, Dar was also instrumental in recruiting the gullible youth into terror ranks of proscribed terror outfit LeT in north Kashmir.

“Pertinently both the killed terrorists, along with foreign terrorists Usman and Sajad alias Haider, were involved in the killing of BJP leader Waseem Bari, his brother and father. The involved foreign terrorists Usman and Sajad were already eliminated in an encounter at Kreeri on August 17, 2020, while as the other two local involved terrorists got killed in today’s encounter. Therefore all the four terrorists involved in case FIR No 74/2019 of PS Bandipora pertaining to the killing of BJP leader and his family got eliminated,” police said.

Arms and ammunition including two AK-47 rifles, a pistol and other incriminating material were recovered from the site.

Police said all the recovered materials have been taken into case records for further investigation and to probe their complicity in other terror crimes.

A case under relevant sections of law has been registered and investigation has been initiated.