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Militants attack the lady Braveheart's house with grenades

by Mritunjay | October 31, 2009 at 08:25 pm

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Rajouri is a small town in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. Once referred by many as "Heaven on Earth" the valley became target of militancy over the last decades. The commoners in area have seen more blood on the streets over the period than many surgeons would have seen in their professional capacity. While the area has been heavily guarded by armed forces over the years, the terrorists have often infiltrated and carried out attacks on civilians as well as armed force members. The mountainous terrain makes it tough for the forces to plug the passes and militants seep through the adjoining international border from Pakistan.

On September 27, 2009 it was a regular day in the small village of Kalsian in Rajouri district until a group of 6 armed terrorists forced entry into the house of Ruksana Kausar, a 21 year old girl with the intention of abducting her. Little did they know what was coming to them. The girl put up a brave fight and in turn attacked the militant with an axe before snatching his assault rifle. She killed a Top Lashkar-E-Taiba (LeT) commander Abu Osama with help from her brother Aijaz. She also fired at the two other militants, who were injured but managed to escape. Her parents were injured in the incident.

After the incident she got a lot of media attention as well was praised from the President and other leaders.

Supt (of Police)Shafqat Watali said Miss Kausar’s reaction was “a rude shock” for the militants. “Normally they get king-like treatment but this was totally unexpected,” he said.
Miss Kausar said she had never fired an assault rifle before but had seen it in films and could not stand by while her father was being hurt. “I couldn’t bear my father’s humiliation. If I’d failed to kill him, they would have killed us,” she said.

She shot into limelight and became a youth icon overnight but as expected the militants who "rule" with terror as weapon could not let a common girl challenge their authority. Militants attacked her ancestral house at Shahdara Sharief on Friday evening local time. The militants who lobbed grenades and opened fire on her residence, were challenged by the security personnel posted at the village and had to beat a hasty retreat using the cover of darkness.

"Rifle grenades were fired at the house and the police post in Kalsi village in Thannaa Mandi area of Rajouri late on Friday night," Rajouri Senior Superintendent of Police Shafaqat Watali said.

No one was injured in the incident as no one was present at the house at the time. Rajouri district collector S Jaipal Singh informed that the family is safe and has been shifted to a safe house in the district headquarter. He said that they had expected such an act and had moved the family to the undisclosed location. Police had intercepted communication between the militants planning an attack on Rukhsana's house.

The lady Braveheart who had never handled a firearm in her life before the incident, was still undeterred by the act of cowardice and in an statement on Tuesday said that the youth should be imparted arms training in the area to fight the militants.

On Saturday she said youth should be imparted training in fighting terror. "These militants are very powerful...I feel young boys and girls should be imparted proper training so that they can drive militants away. The training will enable them to handle firearms if the need arises," she said. "Yesterday, they (the militants) tried to attack my house and burn it down.

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Ninja Mayhem

at 21:13 on October 31st, 2009

Good that the police had moved her out. She surely would be high on the list of the militants after her daredevil act!

If the citizens start standing against the militants they will need to run for cover though it would need utmost courage and would surely involve paying by lives.

For this girl all I can say is: Kudos Lady!

Hugh Askew

at 03:47 on November 1st, 2009

"If the citizens start standing against the militants they will need to run for cover"

Very well said, Ninja Mayhem.

Very good article. Courageous young lady!

Mritunjay

at 10:04 on November 1st, 2009

Latest Update:

Ruksana is being moved to a safer place in the National capital of Delhi.

[q url=""]Official sources said that Rukhsana will be shifted to Delhi by Monday, where she would be lodged at a safe place, as the threat to her life has grown manifold.

The police had intercepted a conversation between militants where they spoke of eliminating Rukhsana and her family. This was followed by a rifle grenade-attack on her house Friday night.

Though no loss was reported in Friday night's attack, the police did not rule out further attacks or the militants trying to seek her in Rajouri, the town where she was shifted after she killed the LeT commander Abu Osama Sep 27.

"At this point in time, I can tell you that Rukhsana is being shifted to Delhi," a police official said, and added: "I cannot give you any other detail."[/q]