Srinagar, Mar 16 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged two accused in the Kokernag-Anantnag encounter case on Saturday.

The encounter now probed by the NIA began on the night of September 13, 2023, when the senior officers came under heavy fire as they approached the suspected hideout in the Gadole forest in Kokernag.

Due to the intense firefight, an Army Colonel, a Major, and a Deputy Superintendent of J&K Police were killed. During the initial shootout, another soldier was also injured, and his body was found on the third day of the operation.

The operation lasted for seven days, during which top Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Uzair Khan was killed.

The NIA said the chargesheet was filed today before the NIA Special Court, Jammu, against Mohammad Akbar Dar and Ghulam Nabi Dar, both residents of the Kokernag area of Anantnag.

The duo have been charged under various sections of the IPC, the Arms Act, and the UA(P) Act.

NIA investigations revealed that the two accused were working as overground workers (OGWs) for Uzair Khan.

“The duo was helping the terrorists active in the area commit terror acts and activities in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. They were providing information about the movement of the security forces, along with logistic support in the form of food, daily necessities, etc. They were also harboring terrorists by providing them shelter,” the NIA investigation revealed.

The NIA said the terrorist killed in the encounter was an active member of the Resistant Front (TRF), an offshoot of LeT.

They said Uzair had joined the LeT in August 2022 and was involved in promoting terror activities against security forces in the Anantnag area through Pakistani handlers from across the border.

“He had also been involved in earlier terror incidents in the Kokernag area, and on two previous occasions, he had managed to flee from the clutches of the security forces after taking advantage of the mountainous and forest terrain,” an NIA spokesman said.

“Both LeT and TRF are proscribed organizations and have been involved in the continuous instigation and motivation of Kashmiri youth to join the terror outfits in the name of Jihad,” he added.

The NIA said LeT is the largest terrorist group formed in the early 1990s and is actively engaged in reviving the network in the Anantnag area. It is working through various offshoots in the Jammu and Kashmir region.

“The two outfits are operating on social media platforms like Twitter, Telegram, and Youtube channels to promote their cause and lure unemployed youth to carry out terror activities,” the NIA said.

The case was initially registered on September 13 at Police Station Kokernag, Anantnag, and re-registered by the NIA on December 5.

UNI