Srinagar,  The killer of Rahul Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit government employee, was among the three terrorists gunned down in an encounter between militants and security forces at Waterhail in J&K's Budgam district on Wednesday, the police said.

Rahul Bhat was killed inside his office in Budgam on May 12.

"Terrorist Lateef Rather alias Abdullah, killer of Rahul Bhat and Amreen Bhat, was among the three terrorists gunned down on Wednesday. He was involved in several terror crime cases, including civilian killings and other atrocities," J&K Police tweeted quoting ADGP (Kashmir Zone), Vijay Kumar.

The firefight had started after a joint team of police and security forces got a tip-off about the presence of terrorists in that area.

After the security forces cordoned off the area, the terrorists hiding there started firing, drawing retaliation by the security forces.

After the killing of Rahul Bhat, Kashmiri Pandit employees serving in Kashmir under the Prime Minister's rehabilitation programme had threatened to leave the Valley citing security concerns.