A fresh wave of terror gripped the remote hilly area of Lohai Malhar in Billawar tehsil of Kathua district on Saturday soon after the recovery of dead bodies of three civilians, including a young boy near a waterfall.
The dead bodies were spotted with the help of drone cameras in the upper reaches of Billawar during massive combing and search operations launched by the joint team of security forces in the area.
So far, security forces have not ruled out the role of suspected foreign terrorists behind these civilian killings.
According to police the civilians identified as Varun Singh (15), son of Chamel Singh, a resident of village Dehota, Yogesh Singh (32), son of Shori Lal and Darshan Singh (40), both residents of Marhoon, went missing while they were heading to a marriage function in Lohai Malhar area on Thursday.
This is the second such incident since February 16 in the region where dead bodies of civilians have been recovered by the security forces under mysterious circumstances.
Two civilians, Shamsher (37) and Roshan (45), were found dead on February 16 in Kohag village, Billawar, after venturing there to collect wood.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Kathua district Shobhit Saxena Saturday said, “Yes, the bodies have been sighted in the upper reaches, but it will take a couple of hours to get a clear picture of what exactly happened to them.”
The local villagers in the area are feeling insecure following repeated incidents of civilian killings belonging to a Hindu community.
Earlier on Friday, BJP MLA Satish Sharma from Billawar brought up the issue of missing civilians in the Lohai Malhar area during the assembly session. Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma also spoke to Inspector General of Police Jammu range to ascertain the whereabouts of the missing civilians.
To coordinate the ongoing search and combing operations senior officers of the Jammu and Kashmir police and army were rushed to the spot. Since last year, the upper reaches of Kathua district are witnessing incidents of terrorist violence.
In July 2024, five soldiers were ambushed by the foreign terrorists near Macchedi area of Kathua. Additional forces were rushed to the area to plug the gaps and strengthen the security grid to prevent such targeted strikes.