Reported by Nazir Masoodi, Edited by Deepshikha Ghosh

Abu Dujana, a Lashkar terrorist among the most-wanted in Jammu and Kashmir, was shot dead by security forces during an encounter at Hakripura near Pulwama this morning.

Dujana was hiding in the house with Arif Lalihaari and two more terrorists when security forces surrounded the area around 3 am. The forces had acted on intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the village. When they arrived, the terrorists opened fire, prompting the forces to retaliate.

Born in Pakistan, Dujana was Lashkar’s commander for the Kashmir Valley but a few months ago, he was disarmed by his group after a rift within the ranks of the terror organization.

Dujana was wanted in over three dozen attacks on security forces and civilians and carried a reward of Rs. 15 lakh. His name was on list of wanted terrorists from the LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen compiled by security forces.

The Kashmir police say the encounter is over and the bodies of the terrorists were found and identified.

Sources say Dujana had many close calls earlier. He managed to escape in May allegedly because of a mob that threw stones at the security forces during an encounter.