Search operation underway to trace the terrorists: Police
Two different groups of terrorists heading into this area
Srinagar, Apr 28: A Village Defence Guard (VDG) member was killed in a gunfight with terrorists in a remote village inPanara villagein Udhampur district early Sunday, officials said.
A massive search operation is underway to flush out the terrorists, who are believed to have recently infiltrated from Pakistan, police said.
A police officer told Rising Kashmir that exchange of fire was reported from Panara village of Basantgarh when a patrolling party of police and VDGs confronted the suspected terrorists around 7:45 am, the officials said.
“During the clash Police confronted hiding terrorists. One VDG member was injured, who later succumbed to his injuries. Joint operation was underway with Army and CRPF. Operation is going on in that area,” he said.
The injured VDG member,who succumbed to his injuries in the hospital, has been identified as Mohammad Shareef, 48, a resident of Lower Ponar, Basantgarh, Udhampur.
“We have launched a massive search operation in the area and more reinforcements have already reached the spot and drones, sniffer dogs’ squads are deputed to trace the terrorists,” the police said.
The police officer said that the terrain is tough because it is high up, so it will take longer to flush out the terrorists. The Special Operations Group of police, along with Army and CRPF teams, hurried to the area to make it more secure and stop the terrorists.
He said there are two different groups of terrorists heading into this area. They have recently sneaked in from the International Border in Kathua district and are heading towards Kashmir Valley through the Chenab region. They were assigned to cause trouble during the elections in Kashmir Valley.
“Usually, terrorists come through Kathua district and try to sneak into Kashmir Valley through the thick forests of Dodu-Basantgarh via Doda district. One group, with five members, has been met head-on, but the other group, with four members, has not been found yet. They were last seen in the Machedi top area near Kathua. The Army dropped Special Forces into the forest, and now there is a massive search going on to find and stop the terrorists,” the officer said.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jammu Zone, Anand Jain on Monday evening visited Basantgarh encounter spot , after firing incident between police and terrorists, which injured a Village Defence Guard of J&K Police. The area has been cordoned off and a thorough search operation is being carried out by the security forces.
On April 17, terrorists fired upon and critically injured one person identified as Raju Shah, a resident of Bihar at JabliporaBijbehera, Anantnag. He was evacuated to hospital for treatment and later succumbed to injuries.
On April 22, Mohd Razaq, a Govt employee was killed, in Kunda Shahdra area of Rajouri.
On April 26, the Army had trained the VDGs in weapon handling and firing in Poonch’sMendhar, Harni and JaranwaliGali areas. The training came in the wake of terrorists killing an Army jawan’s brother in Rajouri’sThanamandi area.
The old Village Defence Committees were brought back to life and given a new name, Village Defence Guard. This happened because terrorists attacked a village in Rajouri’sDagri area in 2023 and killed seven people.
Back in 1995, these committees, originally called VDCs, were created in 10 districts of the Jammu region when there was a lot of fighting in Kashmir and attacks on minority groups were common.
When the violence decreased, the VDCs were disbanded, and the people who volunteered for them had to give their weapons to the local police.
Around 26,567 locals joined these committees in the Jammu region. But later due to 160 criminal cases involving members of the VDCs, local people started questioning these committees.
