Three terrorists of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) were killed on Sunday in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, where a Deputy Superintendent of Police also lost his life. An Army jawan who was injured in the gunfight later succumbed to his injuries, police said.
Two other Army personnel, including a Major, were also injured in the encounter which broke out after the troops of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 34 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and the Jammu and Kashmir Police were conducting search operations in Tarigam area of the district.
Security forces have recovered arms and ammunition from the site of encounter. The identity of slain terrorists is yet to be established.
"A group of militants from Jaish were hiding somewhere in the area after which security forces started the encounter operation," said DGP Dilbagh Singh.
Dy SP of Jammu and Kashmir Police, Aman Kumar Thakur, who led from the front in the operation received critical bullet wounds in his head during the gunfight and was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
A resident of Gogla in Doda district of Jammu region, Aman Thakur is survived by his parents, wife Sarla Devi and 6-year-old son Arya.
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Jammu and Kashmir Police paid rich tributes to Thakur. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this critical juncture," the police said in a statement.
Thakur, a 2011-batch Kashmir Police Service Officer was heading the counter-terrorism wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police in Kulgam for the last one-and-a-half years and had played a key role in the killing of terrorists in the area.