Eliminating Naikoo: How the math went wrong for this dreaded terrorist

New Delhi, May 07: Never caught before, managed to give the slip several times, dreaded Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, Riyaz Naikoo was gunned down in an encounter by the security forces on Wednesday.

His death resolves a massive headache for the forces. He has been giving the security forces the slip for the past 7 years. In 2018, he had even offered to surrender but ended up tricking the police and escaped.

This time around the forces wanted to get it right and there was no scope for any error. Gunning him down was of top priority as he had gradually started to re-build the outfit and there were also a spurt in the number of terror activities in the Valley.

Sources tell OneIndia that due to Naikoo's extensive contacts on the ground, he had managed to give the security forces the slip many times. He lasted in the Hizbul Mujahideen for 7 years, which itself is a rarity when the maximum lifespan a terrorist has is 2 to 3 years in the Valley.

The massive hunt for Naikoo began on Tuesday. By Tuesday the anti-terror unit, Special Operations Group (SOG) had grade A information on the terrorist. Following this actionable input, the agencies began tracking him closely. It was learnt that he would be visiting his family and relatives.

When he was finally tracked and the information about his presence was confirmed, the security forces began surrounding his village. There was no movement by the forces after that and it was decided that the first move would be made at dawn.

Naikoo had no option, but to engage in the gun battle. The manner in which the village had been cordoned off, there was no way he could escape. The forces secured the area with a radius of more than one kilometre around the place where he was hiding.

The first contact with Naikoo was established at around 9.30 am on Wednesday. The forces first blew up the house he was hiding in. However he managed to move to the nearby house. The forces before the operation cleared out all civilians. Once Naikoo moved the other house, the gun battle continued and ended at 1 pm. No casualties among civilians or security personnel were reported.

Once the gun battle ended, the forces entered the house and identified the body. Another terrorist Adil Wani was also killed in the encounter. The number of terrorists killed in the Valley from January 2020 now stands at 68.