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Updated: Mar 03, 2016 22:36 IST

Security forces killed three militants, including Class 10 topper Mohammad Ishaq Parray, in an encounter in Dadsara village of South Kashmir’s Tral area.

Parray, 20, was a meritorious student before he joined the banned organisation, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, in March 2015. In the Class 10 exams, results for which were announced in December 2011, he scored 98.4% and secured the ninth position in the Kashmir zone. His academic performance even earned him the sobriquet of ‘Newton’.

The once-exceptional student was killed in the late night encounter after security forces launched a search operation on Wednesday, following information about the presence of militants in the Tral area. Dadsara village was subsequently cordoned off, even as protests erupted among the villagers.

In addition to Parray, the two others killed were said to be A+ and A category militants of the banned outfit.

“Among the slain militants is Ashiq Hussain Bhat of Charsoo village, who was wanted in connection with providing shelter to militants involved in the Udhampur attack,” said an army official.

In the Udhampur attack last August, two Border Security Force (BSF) jawans were killed and 10 were injured after armed militants attacked their convoy. While one militant was killed, another was caught alive by the security forces. Both were Pakistani nationals.

While Bhat was an A+ category militant who reportedly joined the organisation in August 2014, the third militant, identified as Asif Ahmad Mir, was an A category militant who joined in July 2014.

The army official said three AK-47 rifles were recovered from the site of the encounter.