SRINAGAR: Posters claiming to be from Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit have appeared in Sopore accusing the two families, whose houses were destroyed in a gunbattle last week, of “conspiring with army and police” to kill six militants.
Four days after six Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) militants were killed in Saidpora village of Sopore, posters of the militant outfit appeared in the village and adjoining areas, appealing to people not to donate money to those whose houses were damaged in the gunfight.
“They (killed militants) became a victim of a malicious and vicious conspiracy conceived by two persons (whose houses were damaged in the encounter),” read the posters in Urdu, written on Lashkar’s letterheads.
The two houses were damaged in a 30-hour encounter in Saidpora village, which had erupted on the wee hours on Tuesday, after the police and the Army cordoned off the village after specific information about the presence of militants.
The encounter ended on Wednesday evening. Six militants were killed in the encounter.
One of the killed militants was a resident of Sopore. A Major and a jawan were also injured in the gunfight.
The appearance of the posters has spread panic in the area. The poster further appealed to the people of Sopore and Saidpora to outcast and not help the two persons who gave information to the Army and the police about the presence of militants in the village.
The militant outfit also threatened the duo with serious consequences.
The police said it was looking into the case. “These posters do not look genuine. But we are looking into it,” Sopore SP Imtiyaz Mir was quoted by TNS as saying.
Sopore had observed strike for three days following the killing of the six LeT militants.