Security forces killed three militants during an 'encounter' in the Rambagh area of Srinagar on Wednesday, 24 November. The police claim that all three were involved in killings of civilians.
The Jammu and Kashmir police later identified the slain as Mehraan Yaseen Shalla of Jamalata in Srinagar, Arafat Ahmad Sheikh of Nikloora Litter in Pulwama, and Manzoor Ahmad Mir of Babhar in Pulwama.
They were reportedly killed near the Rambagh bridge on Lal Chowk-Airport road. While police state that the killings were a result of a gunfight, witnesses said they were dragged out of a car and shot, The Indian Express reported.
The shootings have provoked protests in Srinagar.
More About the Militants
The J&K police have claimed that Mehraan Yaseen Shalla was affiliated with The Resistance Front (TRF), which is reportedly a shadow group of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and was involved in the killings of various civilians and personnel in the past few months.
He was responsible for killing two teachers in Sangam, and involved in the killing of PSI Arshid at Khanyar. Additionally, Shalla was said to be a part of the grenade attack at Barbar Shah in Srinagar, in which two civilians were killed.
On 12 September, the police claimed, Shalla and his associates murdered police sub-inspector Arshad Ahmad Mir, who was transporting an accused to the police station.
J&K DGP Dilbag Singh had then said that the perpetrators involved in this case have been identified and "they will be brought to justice."
(With inputs from The Indian Express and PTI.)
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