Army ‘deserter’ shot dead

SRINAGAR: A person, who was declared deserter by the Army in September last year, was on Wednesday killed by militants in south Kashmir district of Pulwama.

The deceased has been identified as Ashiq Ahmed Nayek, they said.

The militants, believed to be from Jaish-e-Mohammed, fired at Nayek close to his residence in Pingleena area, where three terrorists were neutralised in an encounter on February 18.

Official sources said that unknown number of militants barged into the residence of 25-year-old Nayek on Wednesday afternoon.

“Naik was taken outside his residence and shot at from close range,” they said, adding that the masked militants managed to escape from the spot.

They said Nayek was immediately taken to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

Meanwhile, security forces were rushed to the area and a search operation was launched to nab the attackers. Checkpoints were established within the five-km radius from the site of shooting, sources added.

Earlier, it was reported that Nayek was a soldier. However, Defence Ministry Spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia, rejecting the reports, said the killed person was a deserter.

Giving details, he said Nayek, son of Mohammad Yousuf Nayek, never took oath as a soldier.

“He was enrolled on January 15, 2018 in Territorial Army and went to JAK LI Regimental Center on March 21, 2018,” Col Kalia said.

He said the individual went on three days leave on September 14, 2018 and never returned. “Naik was declared deserter on September 17, 2018,” he said.

Col Kalia said technically, after being declared deserter during training, he is a civilian. “We have no ex-recruit,” he added.