A gunfight between holed up militants and security forces erupted in the central Kashmir Budgam district on Wednesday.
The pilgrimage will be a big security challenge for the government as Jammu and Kashmir has been witnessing a number of targeted killings by terrorists in recent weeks.
The ultras killed them by slitting their throats at a nearby village.
A militant hurled a grenade at people who foiled their bid to abduct a businessman.
Sayar Ahmad Sheikh was hit by a tear smoke shell while Yawar Bhat, died in security forces' action after protesters indulged in stone pelting.
Ahead of a crucial meeting on Jammu and Kashmir, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and is believed to have discussed the security situation in the Union territory which has witnessed a spate of targeted killings since May 12.
Militants exploded a grenade in a bid to escape after making an abortive attempt to abduct a contractor.
Among the keenly watched contests are those involving former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav (Kannauj, UP) and Union ministers Giriraj Singh (Begusarai, Bihar), Nityanand Rai (Ujiarpur, Bihar) and Raosaheb Danve (Jalna, Maharashtra).
"We condemn the brutal use of force by Indian security forces against peaceful and unarmed protesters," it said.
The aircraft crashed as it was coming in to land at the Srinagar airport after an operational sortie. The pilot, Flying Officer B K Singh, bailed out and was in hospital with a broken arm.
Weapons and war-like stores were recovered from the encounter site.
One cop killed near the revered Chrar-e-Shareef shrine and another outside the residence of a Hurriyat leader, in the Kashmir Valley officials said.
Barring a stone pelting incident at Soibagh area in Budgam district, the situation was peaceful in the areas where the polling was held, the officials said.
A young man was killed and two others injured in firing by the Central Reserve Police Force on Saturday during protests in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir where a strike has been called by the hardline Hurriyat faction against the killing of two youths in Tral earlier this week.
Rajni Bala, a government school teacher who was killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, was cremated in Samba on Wednesday, amid an outpouring of grief and anger.
Ghulam Nabi Azad remarked that the figures are not high enough to know whether the people are happy or angry with the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, Mehbooba Mufti said it is a message that the people have not accepted the Centre's decisions.
Geelani remained under house arrest for the third consecutive day
Security forces have been deployed in strength in sensitive and vulnerable areas to maintain law and order.
The attack came on a day when the union home minister, Rajnath Singh is arriving in the valley to review the states security situation.
'There was a statement by a minister that 30,000 Kashmiri Pandits have come back to the Kashmir Valley after the abrogation of Article 370, it is all b.......t and a white lie.' 'Nobody has come back.'
'There is no peace in the Kashmir Valley.'
A police officer said the FIR has been registered under sections 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 367 (kidnapping or abducting in order to subject person to grievous hurt) of the Ranbir Penal Code.
Barring parts of Srinagar city, Anantnag and Pampore towns, curfew was on Saturday lifted from Kashmir even as normal life remained disrupted due to the strike called by separatists.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has transferred five Kashmiri Pandit employees from Kashmir to Jammu, a step welcomed by the community members who have been on a strike for over two months in support of the demand for their relocation over safety concerns.
Following the incident, tension gripped the area and all shops have been shut down, the official said.
Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police S P Vaid on Friday lauded the restraint shown by the Central Reserve Police Force jawans who were heckled by some youths in Budgham on Sunday, saying "any armed force in the world would have retaliated with force".
An army jawan, identified as Happy Singh of 19 Rashtriya Rifles was killed in the encounter,
Curfew and restrictions continued in Kashmir for the 29th day after fresh clashes erupted in the Valley killing three men on Friday.
The killing of the two terrorists is a huge success for the forces, he said. Kumar said LeT terrorists were also behind the killing of Bhupinder Singh, Block Development Council chairman, Khag, in central Kashmir's Budgam district.
Hizbul Mujahideen militant Mushtaq Ahmad Chopan, who was killed in the attack, tried to escape from Tral police station wearing a burqa. In the incident, constable Mehraj Din was also injured, a police spokesman said.
Yattoo, who hailed from Budgam district of central Kashmir, had a long association with Hizbul Mujahideen and was responsible for keeping alive the prolonged unrest of 2016 following the killing of group's commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8.
"We have identified the terrorists behind the attack. They are from the Lashkar, led by a Pakistani terrorist named Saifullah. We are on the job and they will be neutralised soon," Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir Zone Vijay Kumar said.
A teenager was shot dead by security forces in the Kashmir Valley on Saturday during a strike called by hardline Hurriyat Conference against the recent killing of two youths in an army operation in Tral, prompting the authorities to register a murder case and order a magisterial probe.
Curfew has been lifted from Bandipora, Baramulla, Budgam and Ganderbal districts of the Valley but restrictions on the assembly of people under Section 144 CrPC continue in these districts
Curfew in many parts and separatist-sponsored strike disrupted normal life for the 30th straight day on Sunday in Kashmir Valley where violence has so far left 54 persons dead and more than 6000 others injured.
Sources said the police have identified the youths who attacked the CRPF personnel and action against them is expected soon.
Gandhi, who met a cross section of people from Jammu and Kashmir during his yatra, said J-K has the highest level of unemployment in the country.
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