He was a Hindu by birth who got buried in the martyrs graveyard at Marwah with all Muslim rites this evening after his parents refused to take his body from the police. Identified as Subash Kumar Shan alias Wasif alias Qamran,the first Hindu divisional commander of Hizbul Mujahideen for Kishtwar division,he was killed in a fierce gun battle with police and security forces on Tuesday. Subash along with his three accomplices had got trapped in Gokund area of Renie Nallah,some 20 kms from Nawapachi in Marwah tehsil after police and security forces launched a joint combing operation following specific information on Tuesday morning. However,when the combing operation was in progress,militants opened fire on the police and security forces who retaliated. Inspector General of Police for Jammu zone,Dilbagh Singh,said that apart from Subash,the other three militants engaged in the encounter included Jahangir,Riyaz and Sajjad. However,while Subash was killed,Sajjad got injured. The later along with two others,however,managed to escape. Initially the slain militant was identified by police and security forces as Sajjad Ahmed Mir alias Rizwan of Tachna Dachhan. An AK 47 rifle along with ammunition,one wireless set and two Chinese greades were seized from him. However,as the body of the slain militant was shown to his relatives,they denied him being Sajjad. Following a controversy over his identity,the slain militant was brought to Marwah where people identified him as Subash,son of Jeevan Lal Shan,an ex-serviceman,of Palmar,Marwah. Though he happened to be the second Hindu militant having been killed in the hilly district during the last two years,police said that Subash was a hardcore militant involved in a number of killings. He had joined militancy in 2001 and he was made divisional commander of Hizbul Mujahideen for Kishtwar division after the surrender of Furdaus Ahmed Matoo alias Prince in 2009. The first Hindu militant killed in the district was Kuldeep Kumar of Puneja. As Subash had joined militant ranks against the wishes of his family members,his parents after the postmortem refused to take his body from the hospital. The body was later handed over to some local Muslims for his burial at martyrs graveyard at Marwah. With his killing,the Hizbul Mujahideen has received a major set back as Subash being a Hindu was a source of inspiration for other militants operating in the area. The slain militant commander was a great motivator and he was,at present,busy recruiting new youth to his ranks.
