Three Indian Army men sacrificed their lives while four civilians were killed by a heavily-armed group of infiltrators, suspected to be members of the lashkar-e-Tayyeba (leT) suicide squad, on Thursday before three of them were neutralised in a day-long gun battle in Kathar Kothe Village of Arnia in RS Pura sector along the International Border in Jammu.
To flush out the infiltrators from inside the abandoned bunkers constructed along the ditch-cum-bund (DCB) in the border area, the Army had to press primary infantry vehicle BMP-2 to clear the concrete bunkers.
Helicopters were also pressed into service to evacuate injured soldiers during the 12-hour-long clinical operation. Till the time of filing the report the operation was still going on as the security forces were not sure about the fate of the fourth infiltrator holed up inside the bunker since morning. The infiltrators, according to a preliminary assessment done by various security agencies, may have infiltrated from across the border with the active support of Pakistan Rangers to create disturbance in the ongoing election process in the State.
Following the audacious strike a high alert was sounded all along the border belt and in and around Jammu ahead of the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.Inspector General of Police, Jammu Range Rajesh Kumar told reporters in the evening, "three infiltrators have been neutralised so far while three civilians were killed and three army personnel also made the supreme sacrifice in the day-long operation".
Modi is scheduled to address two election rallies in Udhampur and Poonch district of Jammu region in support of party candidates.The timing of the strike also raises many questions.The attack took place a day after India paid tributes to the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.According to reports, the group of ultras may have infiltrated during the wee hours from across the border before their suspicious movement was spotted. Some of the eyewitness reports claimed, the infiltrators dressed in Pathan suits had changed their clothes under a small bridge in Pindi Char Kalan and were waiting in the area when they were spotted in the forward border village.
According to these reports, "Before the infiltrators were able to move out of the area their suspicious movement was spotted by the jawans of the Territorial army in the area and were challenged".The infiltrators, according to official sources, had penetrated more than 1.5 kms inside the Indian territory. The location were the infiltrators were intercepted by the jawans of the Indian army was roughly 1.5 kms from BOP Pindi in Arnia sub sector.
As the jawans of the Territorial army challenged them, the infiltrators opened fire on them around 8.30 a.m. The passers by and those moving in their private cars in the area were caught in the cross fire and were reportedly killed in the fierce fire fight."After this initial round of firing the infiltrators managed to sneak inside one of the abandoned bunkers and took positions" eyewitness reports claimed.
The security forces and other paramilitary forces along with state police force had laid tight cordon in the area to prevent escape of the fourth infiltrator under the cover of darkness. Panic stricken villagers vacated their houses in the area and shifted to safer places as heavy exchange of fire ensued through out the day.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Thursday said the attack "can’t be a coincidence" and that he condoled the death of the soldier.The dead soldiers have been identified as Naik Kulvinder and lance Naik Joginder, both of 5 Sikh li and Naik Pawan Singh of 1 Para.The civilians killed in the gun battle have been identified as Vikas Sabarwal, son of Thodu Ram, resident of village Alla, Arnia, Kishore Kumar, resident of Bari Brahmana and Vijay Kumar, resident of Batala, Punjab.
Two army jawans, who were trapped near the encounter site, were also evacuated to safety. Meanwhile, ruling out the possibility of fresh infiltration Inspector General of BSF, Jammu frontier Rakesh Sharma late Thursday evening claimed that the fence along the International border was found intact. Red alert has also been sounded in the Jammu region in the wake of hectic political activity ahead of the second phase of polling on December 2.