Four troops have been slain in an ongoing gunfight between security forces and militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district since Wednesday morning, including two Army captains.
The fatalities have been identified as Captain Shubham and Havildar Majid of 9 PARA, as well as Captain MV Pranjal of 63 Rashtriya Rifles. The fourth soldier’s identity is still a mystery. In order to evacuate Captain Pranjal, soldiers from 9 PARA had entered the woodlands. However, sources claimed that while doing so, they came under heavy fire from militants who were thought to number five or six.
After being transported to the Command Hospital in Udhampur, the wounded Major of 9 PARA is reportedly stable.
One militant was also reportedly killed in the encounter, though his body is yet to be recovered.
Officials stated that the operation was ongoing and that the encounter began at approximately nine in the morning in Kalakote’s Bazi Mal Upper woodlands when militants opened fire on police and security personnel who had begun searches in response to specific intelligence inputs.
According to sources, the assailants seem to be a new gang that crossed the Line of Control recently. The police and security services had already started a search and cordon.
A militant was slain earlier on Friday in the Budhal area of Rajouri district during a joint operation by J&K Police and security personnel. The killed extremist left behind an AK-47 gun, three magazines, three grenades, and a pouch. His companions were able to flee.
According to sources who cited residents, two militants made a meal request on Sunday when they went to a home close to Keri Chaddar hamlet. When security forces arrived, the extremists had already made their getaway.
A man was beaten by extremists on Tuesday after he declined to offer them food. He informed the security services about the occurrence as well.
Five members of the Army’s elite special forces were slain by militants in May during an ambush in the heavily forested Budhal region. An improvised explosive device caused an explosion that injured an officer.
According to a senior police officer, militant groups based in Pakistan have made coordinated efforts to resurrect terror activities in the Pir Panjal region, which includes the bordering districts of Rajouri and Poonch.
Terrorist groups are attempting to rekindle their old relationships by phoning individuals on this side of the border and requesting that they direct infiltrating militants to their targets and provide them with logistics, as the signal from mobile service providers based in Pakistan is leaking over to areas near the Line of Control in both districts.
According to officials, in addition to transferring weapons, ammo, and explosives, terrorists are also employing drones to drop large quantities of cash and drugs over the LoC via land routes.
In both of these districts, there are approximately fifty villages with a combined population of about 20,000 people. A senior police officer stated that these communities, along with security forces, have been conducting search and cordon operations nonstop to make sure that militants are unable to establish any kind of permanent base. He continued by saying that many individuals had been placed in preventative custody and interrogated regarding the existence of militants.
