Jammu. A member of the Village Defense Guard (VDG) was killed in an encounter with recently infiltrating terrorists in a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district in the early hours of Sunday. A senior police officer gave this information. Additional Director General of Police (Jammu Division) Anand Jain, who reached the area to monitor the counter-terrorism operation, said that a large-scale search operation is going on to nab the terrorists who had infiltrated from Pakistan.
The officer said that two groups of terrorists are believed to be present in the area after recently infiltrating from across the border. Jain laid a wreath on the mortal remains of VDG member Mohammad Sharif, killed in the encounter, and saluted his supreme sacrifice for the nation. Deputy Inspector General of Police, (Udhampur-Reasi) Raees Mohammad Bhat and other officers of police and Central Reserve Police Force also paid tribute to the late VDG member.
The ADGP said that it is believed that two groups of terrorists are present in the area after recently infiltrating from across the border. When asked about the possible infiltration of terrorists from the international border, he said, ‘Where the terrorists have infiltrated from is a matter of investigation. But it is certain that this group has just infiltrated. He said that according to preliminary investigation, the strength of both the groups is between four to six, but their affiliation was not immediately known.
Jain said, ‘We are working on various inputs and a search operation is being conducted in the area to nab them along with the deployment of additional forces.’ Earlier, officials said that a large-scale search operation is going on to eliminate the terrorists. He told that it is believed that these terrorists have recently infiltrated from Pakistan and have come here. Officials said that in Panara village of Basantgarh, a patrol team of police and village defense guard had an encounter with suspected terrorists at around quarter to eight in the morning.
After the firing that lasted for more than half an hour, the terrorists fled into the forest and were chased by the security forces. Officials said VDG member Mohammad Sharif, resident of Khaned, was seriously injured in the firing and later died. A police spokesperson said, ‘After receiving information about the activities of suspicious people late Saturday evening, Jammu and Kashmir Police had activated the security system in the limits of Basantgarh police station area. A police team along with members of VDG proceeded to ‘Chochru Gala Heights’ this morning, where they had an encounter with a group of terrorists.
The spokesperson said that a special operations group of police along with teams of Army and CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) have been sent to the area to strengthen the cordon and eliminate the terrorists. According to official sources, recently information was received about two groups of terrorists moving from Kathua towards Basantgarh. He said that a clash broke out between a group of five members and the other group could not be traced. He told that there are four members in this group and last time information was received about their activity in Machedi, a hilly area bordering Kathua.
Sources said that it is believed that the terrorists have infiltrated from Kathua district and are moving towards Kashmir through Chenab Valley, taking advantage of the dense forest. Sources said that the army has deployed special forces in the forest area and the terrorists are being killed. A massive search operation is going on to trace and eliminate them. He told that there was no encounter with the terrorists again.
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Tags: Jammu, jammu kashmir
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 28, 2024, 22:50 IST