The Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday released a video in which army personnel can be heard offering surrender to trapped terrorist inside a house at Hokersar Lawaypora on December 29 last year.
“On 29/12/20 evening after the cordon at #Hokersar, troops are repeatedly #appealing the trapped #(militants) to come out and #surrender with assurances that they will not be harmed,” police said in a tweet. In the 27-second a drone can be seen outside hovering around house while an army man makes offer of surrender: “You are given a chance to surrender. Leave weapons and come out.
Three terrorists including 24-year-old Ajaz Maqbool Ganai from Putrigam Pulwama, 22-year-old Zubair Ahmad Lone from Turkawangam Shopian and Athar Muhstaq Wani from Bellow, Pulwama, were killed on December in the “gunfight” in Lawaypora. Their families along with some human rights groups had alleged that the “terrorists’ were innocent youths and were killed in fake encounter.
Police in a statement said that the gunfight was launched on the inputs of army and eventually fructified into a joint operation of the Army, CRPF and Police.
“After the cordon was laid, militants lobbed grenades from inside and fired upon the search party. As per the SOP, troops repeatedly appealed to the militants to surrender in the evening and again in the morning. However, instead of surrendering, they fired upon the troops and were eventually neutralized in a firefight” police said.