JAMMU — A terrorist, suspected to be affiliated with the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit, was killed in a remote village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, officials said on Sunday.
Also, a fresh encounter broke out in the Thanamandi area of Rajouri district on Sunday evening when security forces launched a cordon and search operation after getting information about the presence of two terrorists, the officials said.
“Based on specific intelligence about the presence of terrorists, a joint search operation was launched by security forces at Manial Gali in Thanamandi. Contact has been established and few rounds have been fired from both sides,” a police official said.
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Earlier in the day, a live hand grenade was found on the banks of a stream in the area and the device was later destroyed by experts in a controlled explosion.
In Kathua district, the body of an unidentified terrorist was recovered this afternoon from the scene of the Saturday evening encounter at Kog-Mandli in Billawar tehsil, taking the death toll in the two-day operation to two, the officials said.
They said a grenade launcher, some grenades and other materials were recovered from the possession of the slain terrorist, while a massive search operation is underway to neutralise other foreign terrorists.
Head Constable Bashir Ahmad laid down his life and two officers – Deputy Superintendent of Police (Operations) and Sukhbir Singh and Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Niaz Ahmad – were injured when terrorists attacked a joint security search party on Saturday evening.
Director General of Police R R Swain paid tributes to the fallen policeman, saying “Bashir did not fear death when it came to protecting his community and countrymen”.
Additional Director General of Police, Jammu zone, Anand Jain said the search operation was launched in the village on Saturday following information about the presence of three to four foreign terrorists in a house.
Talking to reporters near the scene of the encounter, he said both the injured officers are stable.
“The whole area is under tight security cordon and an operation is underway to neutralise the terrorists hiding in the area," he said.
Asked about the interception of the terrorist group ahead of the third phase of polls on October 1, the police officer said the operations against terrorists will continue.
“We are getting continuous information about terrorists and subsequently conducting operations with an endeavour to neutralise them as soon as possible,” he said.
He said adequate security arrangements have been put in place in all poll-bound areas to ensure that there is no terror-related incident.
Besides Kathua, the third phase covers Jammu, Udhampur and Samba districts in Jammu region and north Kashmir’s Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora districts.
The DGP, in a statement, condoled the demise of the head constable and said that the entire police force stands behind his family.
“While the J-K police force cannot bring back HC Bashir, it undertakes to extend every possible support to the family and avenge the martyrdom of the courageous Bashir who did not fear death when it came to protecting his community and countrymen and gave hell to the foreign terrorists with his LMG before succumbing to his injuries,” he said.
The police chief also prayed for the speedy recovery of other injured personnel.