JAMMU: The police have announced a reward of Rs 15 lakh for any actionable information that leads them to the arrest of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Mohammad Lateef Bhat, who was involved in the killing of a policeman on July 22 in Anantnag town. The security agencies have put up posters at prominent public places in Kashmir seeking actionable information leading to the arrest of LeT terrorist, announcing the reward.
According to the police, Bhat was involved in the killing of Head Constable Ashiq Hussain Qureshi on July 22 in Lal Chowk, a busy market area of Anantnag town. Qureshi was deployed in the area for ongoing Shri Amarnath yatra.
The posters carry the photograph of the terrorist that was taken from CCTV grabs in the area when the terrorist was running away after killing the policeman. The posters say that the LeT terrorist hails from Kulgam district and is 22 years of age. Several phone numbers have been provided in the posters to contact the police.
Within days of Qureshi’s martyrdom, the administration of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir gave an appointment in government job to his son. The announcement of the reward of Rs 15 lakh for catching the terrorist responsible for his death is continuing efforts of the police to finish terror ecosystem in J&K.
Since the eruption of terrorist violence in 1989, so far over 1,600 police personnel have laid down their lives in the line of duty fighting terrorism.
This toll includes regular officers, lower-ranked constables, and several hundred Special Police Officers (SPOs). Martyred policemen also include several Inspectors, Deputy SPs, Superintendents, and DIG-level officers.
Around 515 SPOs have laid down their lives in the service of the nation while fighting terrorism, according to official records.
Nine days after Qureshi’s killing, terrorists killed two non-local brick kiln labourers hailing from Chhatisgarh state in Kellam village of Kulgam district on July 31. A hunt is also on to trace the killers of these non-locals identified as Deepak and Bopinder.
Deepak had died in the Government Medical College Hospital in Anantnag on the same day the terrorist shot him. Bhopinder was later shifted in a critical condition to the super speciality Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar. However, despite the best efforts of the doctors, Bopinder passed away in SKIMS Srinagar on August 1.
The killings of non-locals were widely condemned by religious, political and social groups across the board.
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had sanctioned ex gratia cash relief of Rs 10 lakh each for the next of kin of the two non-locals killed by the terrorists. Besides this amount released from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, the district administration of Kulgam had also released Rs 6 lakh for families of both the victims.
