Police officer, Army jawan martyred, terrorists killed in encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam

A deputy superintendent of police, an army jawan and three Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists were killed in an encounter in Kulgam district of south Kashmir on Sunday.

An army major and two soldiers were also injured in the encounter, officials told PTI, adding that a non-commissioned officer, Havaldar Sombir, succumbed to his injuries subsequently.

The other two injured persons, including the major, are out of danger.

The encounter took place in the Turigam area of Kulgam after the police got an intelligence input about the presence of a group of terrorists in the area.

The approaching police party was fired upon, in which Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Aman Thakur got seriously injured in the neck. The officer succumbed to his injuries when he was being flown to the army hospital, the officials said.

A 2011-batch JK Police Services officer and a resident of Doda district in the Jammu region, Thakur was leading the police team from the front in the encounter with JeM terrorists.

Thakur was posted as the DySP (operation) in Kulgam, a terrorist-infested area of south Kashmir, two years ago and had successfully carried out anti-terror operations in the area. He was awarded the DGP's Commendation Medal and Certificate for his exemplary service only last month.

DySP Aman Kumar is survived by his parents, wife Sarla Devi and six-year-old son Arya.

The security forces had, earlier in the day, launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Turigam area of Kulgam district following information about presence of some militants there, a police official told PTI.

He said the militants opened fire on security forces, who retaliated, triggering a gun-battle.

(With inputs from PTI)