In the run-up to the Independence Day celebrations, the Jammu region is once again witnessing a spike in the incidents of terrorist related violence and cross-border movement of suspected infiltrators from across the International border with Pakistan.
On Monday, alert troops of the Border Security Force (BSF) neutralised a Pakistani intruder while he was attempting to sneak inside the Indian boundary in
the Rajbagh area of Kathua district. According to a BSF spokesman, “Alert troops observed suspicious movement wherein a Pakistani national was spotted crossing the International border and approaching aggressively towards the border fence in district Kathua, Jammu on Monday”. The BSF spokesman said the intruder paid no heed to the repeated warnings, prompting the BSF personnel manning the forward posts to open fire, resulting in injuries to the intruder. The intruder was arrested and evacuated to the nearest hospital for treatment. Later on, he succumbed to his injuries during treatment. The BSF spokesman said, “Protest being lodged with the counterpart”. On the other hand, anti-terror operations launched in the Dool area of Kishtwar continued for the second day in succession.
During the day, the security forces blasted the front portion of a natural cave-like structure using rocket-propelled grenades but failed to track down the terrorists believed to be hiding inside the cave. During preliminary inspection, the security forces stumbled upon multiple escape routes inside the cave structure. However, the security forces could not track down the footprints of terrorists hiding in the area.
The search operation in the forest area started early Sunday following intelligence input about the presence of terrorists in the area.
Additional reinforcements from the army, including para commandos, police and CRPF, have been rushed to the remote area to neutralise the terrorists trapped in the general area of Dool.
A separate search operation was launched in the Reasi district following reports of suspicious movement of individuals in the area. The security forces conducted house-to-house searches early Monday morning after an individual working in the hotel industry raised an alarm and alerted the police about the suspicious movement of unidentified personnel in the Gudar Khalsa village of Reasi.