Suhail A Shah
Anantnag, February 12

A soldier along with a local militant — who helped LeT commander Naveed Jutt flee a Srinagar hospital — was killed in a gunfight in Pulwama district of south Kashmir today. Two Army men were injured.

An Army officer identified the slain soldier as Havildar Baljeet Singh, 35, a resident of Karnal district of Haryana. Singh had joined the force in 2002.

The two injured personnel were taken to the Base Hospital, Srinagar, where they are undergoing treatment.The militant, Hilal Ahmad Rather, a resident of Begum Bagh area of Pulwama, was associated with the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.

“He had helped Pakistan terrorist Naveed Jutt escape police custody at the SMHS hospital in Srinagar on February 6 last year. Two policemen were killed in the incident,” said a senior police official. Jutt was killed in an encounter on November 28, last year.The gunfight started around 3.30 am in Ratnipora when security forces were cordoning off the area following inputs of militants’ presence.

Later, clashes erupted prompting the security forces to use tear smoke shells and pellet guns to disperse youths.