3 Militants Who Tortured and Killed Jammu and Kashmir Constable Killed in Kulgam

New Delhi: Three terrorists who were believed to be behind the torture and killing of a Jammu and Kashmir constable were killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam on Sunday.

"Three bodies of terrorists recovered with three weapons so far from encounter site," said Shesh Paul Vaid, Director General of Police, J&K. A search operation is still underway.

Security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation in Khudwani area of Kulgam district in south Kashmir after receiving specific intelligence input about the presence of militants in the area, a police official said. The official said the search operation turned into a gun-battle as the militants fired upon the forces, prompting retaliation.

The police said some people have started throwing stones at the security forces.

On Saturday, gunmen had barged inside the residence of constable Mohd Saleem Shahm, who was on leave and abducted him. He was taken to an undisclosed location and his body was later recovered from near the ghat at Odipora in the southern district.

Police said the body of the martyred policeman bore severe torture marks indicating that he was brutally tortured to death by the militants. A lone breadwinner of his family, he is survived by aged parents, two brothers and one unmarried sister.

Shah had joined the services in 2016 and after completing his basic training he was posted to District Police Lines Pulwama. The police on Saturday said the investigation into the matter indicated the role of terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen and assured that the culprits would be soon brought to justice.

The terror outfit had even released a video of Saleem being interrogated by militants before he was killed on social media. In the video, he accepted that his information had led to the killing of a militant named Aadil. The veracity of the clip, however, has not been ascertained so far.