Wanted Hizbul Mujahideen Militant killed.

New Delhi, Jan 16 (HS): The security forces on Wednesday morning killed a wanted Hizbul Mujahideen militant in the hilly Doda district. The slain militant has been identified as Haroon Abbas Wani, an MBA who was working with a pharmaceutical company and left his job in September 2018. He was having a cash reward of Rs. 15 lakh on his head.

Haroon was a close associate of the Hizbul Mujahideen commander Jahangir Saroori and was one of the longest surviving militants in the Valley. He was wanted by police and security forces in connection with the killing of senior BJP leader Anil Parihar and an RSS activist Chanderkant Sharma.

The official sources said that the forces got a tip-off about his presence outside Gundana village near Doda, following which the forces cordoned off the area and killed him in a cross-firing. Sources said that some other militants who were also present at that time managed to escape from the spot. A combing operation has been initiated by the forces to nab other terrorists. The sources said that police had earlier arrested many people in Kishtwar and Doda districts on charges of providing logistics to militants who were planning to revive militancy in the region.

The sources further said that a conspiracy was hatched by Hizbul Mujahideen commander Jahangir Saroori with Osama, Zahid and Nissar Ahmed Sheikh and Moin-ul-Islam to carry out something big in the area. Out of these, Osama and Zahid were killed in an encounter with security forces in Ranban district on September 28, sources said.