In a major crackdown on terrorism, Kashmir Police killed the most wanted commander of The Resistance Front (TRF) Basit Ahmed Dar in an encounter in Redwani Payeen of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Dar is among the two terrorists killed in today’s encounter. He was classified as an ‘A’ category terrorist and the NIA had announced a Rs 10 Lakh reward for details leading to his arrest.
Following the encounter, Inspector General of Police Kashmir Zone V K Birdhi said that the top TRF terrorist Basit Dar was among the two terrorists killed in the Kulgam encounter today. He added that Basit was A category terrorist and was carrying a bounty of Rs 10,00,000 on his head.
The top officer asserted that it was a big achievement for the security forces as Basit Ahmed Dar was behind many militant attacks, especially in Srinagar. According to the officer, Basit was also the mastermind behind the spate of killings of Police personnel and civilians dating back to 2021. He was on the ‘most wanted list’ of security agencies.
The IGP added that Basit was involved in more than 18 cases of killing of police personnel and civilians. In October 2023, his name also cropped up when the TRF terror group claimed responsibility for opening fire on J&K Police inspector Masroor Ahmad Wani in Srinagar while he was playing cricket.
Basit, a resident of Redwani’s Kulgam, had been missing from his home for three years and joined The Resistance Front (TRF), an off-shoot terror outfit of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
According to PTI, officials stated that security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Kulgam’s Redwani area late on Monday after they had received information about the presence of terrorists in the area. However, the search operation turned into an encounter that continued till Tuesday (7th May).
As per the security forces, Dar was an ‘A’ category terrorist. Notably, the Jammu and Kashmir Police put terrorists in categories such as A+, A, B, and C, etc. This categorisation is based on the terrorists’ nationality, training, exclusivity, duration of activation, number of terror attacks carried, weapons in their possession, and popularity.
Meanwhile, security forces have intensified the search operations in the Poonch and Rajouri districts to track down the terrorists responsible for the attack on an IAF convoy that took place on Saturday. The attack claimed the life of Corporal Vicky Pahade while three other air warriors were injured in the attack.
The Resistance Front
The Resistance Front or TRF is a separatist terrorist organisation currently active in Jammu and Kashmir. According to Indian security agencies, TRF is an offshoot of the terror outfit, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). It is primarily active in the Kashmir region with a main base in Srinagar.
The terror outfit was founded by Sheikh Sajjad Gul of Srinagar and Muhammad Abbas Sheikh of Kulgam, a former Hizbul Mujahideen commander. It was started after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. It is considered the deadliest and biggest terrorist outfit in the current era of Kashmir militancy. It carried out dozens of attacks across Jammu and Kashmir targeting Indian security forces, pro-Indian politicians, Hindu activists, non-Kashmiri migrant laborers, and Kashmiri pundits.