Burhan encounter was genuine, surgically executed, says Army

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 15

A day after senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and Member Parliament Muzaffar Baig raised doubts over the gunfight in which Burhan Wani was killed, the Army today said the operation was “genuine, well-conceived and surgically executed with a great precision.”

“Questions are being raised in some quarters about Burhan Wani’s death. Three terrorists were killed. Three AK rifles and over 300 rounds of ammunition were recovered. One policemen was injured in the firing between security forces and terrorists,” the Twitter handle of the Army’s Udhampur-based Northern Command said in its post.

“The operation was genuine, well-conceived and surgically executed with a great precision and minimum collateral damage. At a time when calmness is the need of hour, request all not to provide fuel to rumour mills,” it added.

On Thursday, Baig while raising questions about the encounter in which Burhan Wani was killed had asked Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to appoint a high-level commission to probe the gunfight and the civilians’ killings that followed. He had even said he believed that the Chief Minister was not taken into confidence when the operation to kill Burhan was launched

The Army also requested people not to spread rumours about the July 8 encounter.

The J&K Police had maintained that an attempt was first made to arrest the militants, including Burhan Wani. “They (militants) opened fire injuring two of our personnel and in the gunfight that followed the three militants were killed,” the police has maintained.

However, there are various stories going around in the village over the gunfight.

Only on Thursday, angry protesters burnt down the house at Bumdoora village of Kokernag Anantnag area where Burhan was hiding and later got killed. The house was set ablaze amid rumours about the family’s “involvement” in getting him killed.