Bodies of  slain VDGs recovered from  Kishtwar forests

Jammu, Nov 08: The bodies of two Village Defence Guards (VDGs) killed by terrorists were recovered on Friday during a massive search operation by the security forces in Kishtwar.
The slain VDGs were killed by the terrorists on Thursday after they were abducted. The bodies of the VDGs were spotted lying near a rivulet in the Pondgwari area in Keshwan belt, the officials said.
A joint search operation by the police, Army, and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was launched in dense forests to hunt down the terrorists.
The operation is concentrated in the Kuntwara, Ohli, and Munzla Dhar hilly areas, with reinforcements dispatched early this morning, officials said.
Security forces have intensified efforts, deploying drones and sniffer dogs, with a helicopter this morning, the officials added.
“Two VDG members, Nazir Ahmed and Kuldeep Kumar from Ohli-Kuntwara, went missing in the upper reaches while grazing livestock,” a police spokesperson said.
Officials said that Ahmad and Kumar had gone to graze cattle in the Munzla Dhar forest in Adhwari but did not return.
Police teams spread out to locate them amid reports of their abduction and subsequent killing by terrorists.
The locals in the area came to know of the killings when terrorists used the victims’ phones to share pictures of their execution.
Officials said that Kashmir Tigers, an offshoot of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad, claimed responsibility for the killings, sharing images of the victims with blindfolded eyes.
Meanwhile, people in various areas of Kishtwar on Friday took to the streets to protest against the killings.
The protesters demanded “immediate elimination” of the terrorists involved in the killings to restore confidence among the local population. Hundreds gathered in the Drabshalla area of the district, burning tyres and blocking roads.