SRINAGAR: A young man was injured when a bullet hit part of his face and flew away, police reports said. He was referred to Pulwama and later to Srinagar.

CRPF personnel holding positions outside the camp where militants on Sunday morning barged inside the CRPF training centre in Lethpora area of district Pulwama of south Kashmir. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur

Details revealed that the police and other security agencies had kept the Drubgam belt literally in a loose siege to prevent people from coming to attend the funeral prayers of a slain Jaish militant, Manzoor Ahmad. A group of people from Qasba Yar, police said, wanted to go to the Jinaza but the army column did not permit them. It triggered tension which resulted in a quick shower of stones on the soldiers, who fired towards the mob.

“One bullet touched the right side of the mouth of this man who was quickly shifted to District Hospital Pulwama and later shifted to Srinagar,” a senior police officer said. “He is a resident of Dardpora in Qasba Yar. His name is slightly disputed because people say he is Saqib but in hospital records, he is mentioned as Aaqib.” Even his residence is slightly disputed.

A senior doctor at the District Hospital Pulwama said the injured boy is 24 years old. “He has received two firearm armies, one in his face and another in left axilla and he has been referred to Srinagar for plastic surgery to prevent his facial disfigurement,” the doctor said. “Both the injuries are superficial and he is stable.”

Manzoor, a Jaish militant from Drubgam, was killed in a fierce encounter with the CRPF in Lethpora on December 31. He was one of the two militants who was killed in the encounter in which five CRPF personnel were killed. The other militant is Fardeen, a resident of a Tral village.

Police said the first funeral prayers of Manzoor in Drubgam are already over. It was attended by around 5000 people. Same is the case with the other militant whose first Nimaz-e-Jinaza was over with a modest gathering.

There are reports about some protests and stone pelting incidents between Lethpora and Pampore. Details are yet to emerge.

Meanwhile, police said the combing operation at the Lethpora CRPF installations has started. Room to from search is taking place. A Police officer said there has not been any fire exchange since Sunday evening. “We were told there were three militants and we have already received two dead bodies,” the officer said. “About the third, we have no idea. Let the searches be over but the searches will take its own time because the damage is extensive.”

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