The encounter between militants and the Army near the 15 Corps headquarters entered the second night with heavy firing in the Cantonment till late evening. So far, one CRPF personnel and a BSNL employee have been killed and three senior Army officials, five CRPF personnel and a civilian injured.Militants are hiding in the telephone exchange and have been firing on troops positioned in lanes leading to the exchange. The Army has sealed all roads leading to Indra Nagar. At around 6.15 pm last evening, militants tried to storm the battalion HQ of 62 CRPF. They later they went inside the telephone exchange next to the CRPF camp.This morning, troops launched a fresh offensive against militants who, in retaliation, hurled grenades at the troops. At 6 pm, the troops blasted the front portion of the exchange where two suicide attackers are believed to be hiding and went inside the building. Later, paracommandos were called to assist the Army in search operations in buildings near the exchange.‘‘The exchange of fire continued through the day. Their resistance ended only after Army blasted the front portion of the exchange at 6 pm. The entire area has been lit by floodlights and searches are on. The actual picture will emerge after the debris is searched in the morning,’’ said CRPF IG V.B.Singh. ‘‘Earlier in the day, one militant was spotted by the troops, he was showing tough resistance and efforts were on to eliminate him,’’ said DIG, Kashmir range, Mohammad Amin Shah.Last night, the Army rescued some civilians including two junior telecom officials from the building. ‘‘Except phone mechanic Kuldeep Kumar, all BSNL employees working in the exchange are safe. I am not sure whether he is alive or not,’’ said BSNL general manager G.S. Marshall.
