19 Hour Pulwama gunfight ends after consuming 4 CRPF Men, 4 Policemen and 3 Militants

The 19-hour-long gunfight that broke out after ‘fidayeen’ militants stormed the Pulwama police lines here ended at about 11.30 pm after government forces killed the third militant, officials said, even as a spontaneous shutdown was observed in most parts of the district on Sunday to mourn the militant killings.
Four CRPF personnel, four policemen and three non-local militants of Jaish-e-Muhammad died in the gunfight while at least eight forces personnel were injured, according to officials.

Two of the slain police personnel Rafiq Ahmad Hajam and Muhammad Yousuf Hajam, residents of Chandgam village, were cousins and laid to rest late last night.
“The bodies were charred after the buildings were set on fire. So we laid them to rest during the night,” said a relative of a slain policeman.
The body of another constable was also charred, he said.

“The bodies could not be retrieved in time due to firing from inside and were charred after the building was set on fire,” an official said.
The gunfight had started at about 4.30 am after militants stormed the police lines and attacked the personnel. Later, the militants took positions inside the family quarters soon after the exchange of firing took place.
The encounter ended at about 11:30 pm (on Saturday), the official said.
A complete shutdown was observed in Pulwama areas to mourn the killings of militants, on Sunday. Shops were closed and transport off the roads. However private traffic plied normally.