“Only that he is breathing”: Pulwama militant held in Anantnag encounter put on ventilator

A militant from south Kashmir’s Pulwama district who was arrested in an injured condition during an encounter between government forces and militants in Sangam area of Anantnag district on Thursday is reported to be in a critical condition in a Srinagar hospital, KNO reported.

The news agency quoted an unnamed official as saying that during an encounter at Gund Baba Khaleel area of Sangam Anantnag, the militant was arrested in an injured condition.

“The arrested militant was identified as Zaheer Abbas Lone, a resident of Pulwama,” the official said.

“Encounter started between terrorists & police/security forces at Gund Baba Khaleel Anantnag today early morning. One local HM [Hizb-ul-Mujahideen] terrorist Zaheer Abbas Lone, R/o Pulwama, arrested in injured condition and shifted to hospital,” police said in a tweet.

A police spokesman in a statement said that on a specific input, during the intervening night of Wednesday-Thursday, police and government forces established a checkpoint at Sangam-Naina road near Gund Baba Khaleel area of district Anantnag.

“During checking, two suspected persons riding a motorcycle were signalled to stop. However, the pillion rider fired upon the joint party in order to escape from the spot. The fire was retaliated, leading to a brief encounter, in which an active militant got injured while the motorcyclist managed to escape from the spot. After receiving gunshot injuries, the militant was arrested by the joint party and shifted to hospital for treatment,” the spokesman said.

He has been identified as Zaheer Abbas Lone, a resident of Pulwama, affiliated with militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.

“Incriminating materials including arms & ammunition were recovered from the site of encounter. All the recovered materials have been taken into case records for further investigation and to probe their complicity in other crimes,” the spokesman said.

In this connection, a case under relevant sections of law has been registered and investigation has been initiated.

Meanwhile, hospital sources told KNO that the militant has been put on a ventilator and his condition continues to be critical. “The only update is that he is breathing,” they said. (KNO)