Hamza Burhan, also known as Arjumand Gulzar Dar alias Doctor and believed to be one of the key masterminds behind the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), police sources said.
Burhan, a commander of the Al Badr terror group, had been designated a terrorist by India in April 2022 for his alleged involvement in multiple terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir. Following the Pulwama attack, in which over 40 CRPF personnel were killed, he was reportedly living undercover as a teacher in PoK.
According to police, Burhan was serving as the principal of a private college in Gojra, Muzaffarabad. He was attacked on Thursday morning when he stepped out of the college premises. Assailants opened fire at close range, hitting him multiple times. Police officials said he sustained three bullet injuries to the head.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition and placed on ventilator support, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Police said a suspect has been arrested and the weapon used in the attack has been recovered. An eyewitness told reporters that the accused attempted to flee on a motorcycle after the shooting but was overpowered by local residents and handed over to the police.
Pulwama Terror attack occurred on 14 February 2019, when a convoy of vehicles carrying Indian security personnel on the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethapora in the Pulwama district of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The attack killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel as well as the perpetrator — Adil Ahmad Dar— who was a local Kashmiri youth from the Pulwama district.The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Pakistan-based Islamist terroristgroup, Jaish-e-Mohammed.
