Hours after security forces claimed three alleged terrorists were shot dead on the outskirts of Srinagar on Wednesday, the families of those killed protested outside police control room in Srinagar.

The families alleged that the three, including the son of a police officer and a class 11 student, were innocent and were killed in the ‘fake and planned encounter’.

The three have been identified as Ajaz Maqbool Ganie and Ather Mushtaq, residents of Pulwama, and Zubair Lone, a resident of Shopian. Ganie is the son of a policeman who is posted in Ganderbal district.

According to the Army, the three were planning a major terror strike on Srinagar-Baramulla Highway, and the force was getting regular inputs on the same.

‘Yesterday, when we received information, we cordoned off the building and appealed to them to surrender. One terrorist tried to come out, but his associates inside resorted to firing and threw grenades towards security forces,’ Major General HS Sahi, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Kilo Force was quoted by NDTV.

However, the police distanced itself from the encounter and said the Army had carried out the operation. In its official statement, the department said that all the three were terrorists, but were not listed on the record.

Two of them are hardcore over-ground workers (OGWs), a term used for any person having links with terrorists. The security forces have recovered an assault rifle and two pistols at the encounter site.

The police also claimed one of them to be a relative of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Rayees Kachroo, who was killed in 2017.

The police also denied all the allegations and said that the families are unaware of the activities of their children. ‘Several OGWs after committing terror crimes like grenade throwing and pistol shooting stay normally with their family,’ the police said.

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