Handwara gunfight Day 2: Police says ‘avoiding civilian casualties, area congested’

Srinagar: The encounter that started between forces and militants on Friday midnight is still underway and there was no confirmation regarding the killing of any militant while as four forces personnel were killed so far.
Police said that they have launched deliberate operation as the area was very congested and to avoid civilian casualty forces are going slow.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Security and Law and Order Munir Ahmad Khan said that the area where gunfight is going on is very congested.
“Since militants have a strategy of changing locations from going from one house to another, we have started a deliberate operation. The area is a very congested and we don’t want any civilian causality,” Khan said.
IGP Kashmir SP Pani while talking to reporters here on the sidelines of wreath lying ceremony of the two police men at Handwara in the morning said:
“There was no mismanagement in the proper special operation procedure (SOP), firing was going in from both the sides amid which four of our security personnels were killed but it’s sure there was no lag from the security end, Since we also had to vacate the civilian population as well.”
The encounter site is very congested, there are few operation difficulties, whatever is needed there is being done with respect to the situation, IG Pani said.
While as he said that, once the operation is over later it can be said how many militants have been killed in the operation, but he had the inputs regarding the presence of two militants there, following which the operation started. However, he said that, the operation is still on the area.
A wreath lying ceremony was held for the slain JKP cops at District Police Lines Handwara, which was attended by, IG Kashmir, DIG North Kashmir, High officials from Army, CRPF, BSF, SSP Handwara and relative of the slain cops. The two CRPF personals were taken to Srinagar and then to be diverted towards their respective destinations.
The two JKP cops were identified as Naseer Ahmad and Ghulam Mustafa both residents of Kupwara district and Inspector Deepak Kumar and Constable Vinod of 92BN CRPF.