he was to visit Rukiya, allegedly his wife +

elimination of Dujana +

SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: Top Lashkar commander Abu Dujana ’s luck ran out on Tuesday when the jihadi, who had successfully evaded security dragnets on several occasions, was killed in Pulwama during a joint counter-terror operation carried out by the Jammu & Kashmir police, CRPF and the Army.The elimination of the Lashkar leader, the mastermind behind the Pampore and Udhampur attacks, is seen as a major counter-terrorism success following a seven-hour gunbattle. Dujana had given the forces the slip several times in the last nine months and was killed after an intelligence tip-off that, in Pulwama.Hailing from Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the Lashkar commander was wanted for several big terrorist attacks in Kashmir, including the assassination of a PDP district president and bank heists. Dujana was tracked to a two-storeyed residential complex in Hakripora.Dujana’s routine of meeting his wife, and sometimes other women, was known to security forces. In fact, senior police officer Munir Khan told the media that he had become an “eyesore” for many locals because he would force himself on women and was a repeat offender. “His elimination is seen as relief for many, especially women,” Khan said.While the area was cordoned off at around 4.45am, the first shots were exchanged only a little after 8am. Long before the encounter got over, heavy stone-pelting targeted troops but the terrorist and an associate could not escape. The operation also involved J&K police’s special operations group.Intelligence indicated Dujana would visit the house of his father-in-law around July 3 to August 1. While he did arrive as expected at the residential complex, he went to a different house in the neighbourhood. It was here that he was cornered by the counter-terror forces and killed along with his accomplice Arif Nabi Dar, alias Arif Lilhaari.J&K police, which had been on Dujana’s trail for some time, had figured out a certain pattern of timing and pre-arrival movements. As soon as the input on his impending arrival was received, they deployed personnel around the house and kept watch for two hours till reinforcements arrived.A joint cordon-and-search operation was launched at 4.30am and led by J&K police and its SOG and assisted by 182 battalion, 183 battalion, CRPF and 55 Rashtriya Rifles (RR).“Announcements were made by police via public address system asking residents to stay indoors. Dujana and his accomplice were told to surrender. However, when they responded with firing, the forces, in a bid to flush out the terrorists with minimum collateral damage, blew up the house. Both Dujana and Lilhaari were killed,” said an intelligence officer. Clashes and protests broke out in nearby areas after the encounter, leading to police firing.The agencies rated the, an “A++” category terrorist with an award of Rs 15 lakh, as a big counter-terror success. Unlike Hizb leader Burhan Wani, who was more of a social media warrior and propagandist than a gun-wielding terrorist, Dujana was directly linked to several terror incidents, including at EDI, Pampore, the 2015 Udhampur attack, bank robberies and killing of PDP’s Pulwama district chief Abdul Ghani Dar. “His elimination will create a gap in LeT operations in Pulwama, even though there are inputs of Abu Ismail taking his place,” said an officer.Active since 2010, Dujana was made LeT commander in south Kashmir following the killing of Abu Qasim in 2015. A master of disguise, he had given the slip to security forces many times. Of late, he had begun to fall out of favour with his LeT bosses and seen gravitating towards “shahadat, sharia and khilafat” advocated by former Hizb commander-turned IS leader Zakir Musa As the charred bodies were being taken out, stone-pelters were seen heckling the jawans. The troops fired teargas shells, pellets and a few live rounds to disperse the protesters.Firdous Khan, a civilian from Begumbagh in Pulwama, was killed after a bullet hit his abdomen in an exchange fire between the troops and the stone-pelters. Later, two civilians, including a nurse, were injured.Unlike the 2015 funeral of another Pakistan-based LeT commander, Abu Qasim, not much support was seen for Dujana. A handful of men from Kulgam arrived late on Tuesday evening to claim his body, which was rejected by police.Dujana’s replacement is Abu Ismail, who used to be a fierce rival. Ismail had masterminded last month’s Amarnath yatra attack in which eight pilgrims were killed.Such was the showdown between Dujana and LeT that he had even begun to approach former Hizb terrorist Zakir Musa, who recently floated the al-Qaida Hind, sleuths said.