Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir government has issued an advisory asking people to stay away from encounter sites following Army chief Bipin Rawat's warning of tough action against stone-pelters.
District administrations in Srinagar, Budgam and Shopian have advised people not to move towards or assemble near places where encounters take place between security forces and militants to avoid injury and loss of lives.
"Prohibitory restrictions have been imposed within a radius of 3 km from the site of any counter-insurgency operation in the districts,” a government spokesperson said.
However, the restrictions shall not apply to the movement of ambulances, medical and paramedical staff and government employees, he said.
The state police have also been asked to impose Section 144 against unlawful assemblies in areas where an encounter on.
General Rawat on Friday warned those attacking security forces during anti-militancy operations of "tough action", acknowledging that the hostile conduct of locals was causing higher casualties in the Kashmir Valley.
The Army chief said security forces in Jammu and Kashmir were facing higher casualties due to the manner in which the local population was preventing them from conducting the operations and "at times even supporting the terrorists to escape".
The stern message from Rawat came a day after three soldiers faced heavy stone-pelting at Parray Mohalla of Bandipore in north Kashmir when they were about to launch an operation against militants holed up there.
Alerted by the stone-pelters, the militants got an opportunity to fire hand grenades and empty a few magazines from AK-rifles into the advancing troopers, leaving three jawans dead and some others, including a commanding officer of CRPF, injured. One terrorist managed to flee the area.
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