JAMMU: A CRPF constable from Madhya Pradesh and two suspected Pakistani terrorists were killed in a 15-hour overnight operation that began late Tuesday in the frontier village of Seda Sohal in Kathua district of Jammu division, where an intelligence alert about a likely fidayeen strike was sounded Wednesday. The region is reeling from four terrorist attacks, beginning with Sunday’s ambush on a pilgrim bus in Reasi district that left nine people dead and 41 wounded.
In Doda district, five Rashtriya Rifles troopers and a special police officer (SPO) were wounded in a terrorist attack on a checkpost near Chattergala mountain pass on Bhaderwah-Pathankot highway around 1am Wednesday.The busy road has been closed and additional forces deployed to intensify an operation to track down the attackers.
Later in the evening, constable Fareed Ahmed from J&K police’s special operation group was wounded when terrorists fired at a search team in Kerloo Bhalessa in Doda district’s Gandoh area, leading to a gunfight. An official said this is a new group of terrorists as Chattergala is about 125km away from Gandoh. “The operation is on,” he said.
This was the second terrorist attack in Doda in 24 hours and fourth in three days in Jammu region.
Police released sketches of four terrorists suspected to be involved in the Doda strikes and announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for information on them. The terrorists, who are of Pakistani origin and aged between 20 and 42, are armed with AK-series rifles, American M4 carbines and pistols, officials said.
Security forces are on high alert following intelligence reports of potential terrorist attacks, particularly in the increasingly volatile Poonch and Rajouri districts. Intelligence agencies warned that “terrorists are planning suicide attacks on security forces/camps/installations, particularly in Suderbani, Nowshera, Lamberi, Akhnoor and Domana areas of Rajouri and Jammu districts, in next 48 hours”. A search operation has been launched in Kalal area of Nowshera sector in Rajouri district following reports of suspicious activity.
In Seda Sohal, about 60km from Jammu and near the international border, the first terrorist was killed Tuesday night in a shootout with security forces after villagers raised an alarm and reported to police the presence of a group of terrorists when an unidentified man asked for water in a house around 8pm. The group retaliated by attacking the house with a grenade and hail of bullets before escaping into nearby forests.
Sources initially reported two villagers were killed in the attack, but officials ruled out Wednesday any civilian fatalities. They said a villager named Onkar, 45, suffered gunshot wounds in his left arm and he is being treated in hospital.
The second terrorist was killed Wednesday noon after a long gunfight with a combined team of police, Army, and CRPF personnel. Constable Kabir Das Uike of 121 Battalion CRPF was fatally wounded when the terrorist tried to break the security ring, firing a hail of bullets with an American M4 carbine. Counter-fire cut down the terrorist.
Uike, 35, a native of Pulpuldoh village in MP’s Chhindwara, is survived by his wife Mamta, four siblings and an elderly mother. He had joined CRPF in 2011. “We have not informed his wife…She is tense and asking questions. They got married just two-and-a-half years ago. Kabir was here on leave and had joined duty hardly a week ago,” brother-in-law Ravi Shankar said. Uike’s mortal remains will reach his village Thursday.
During the operation, DIG Sunil Gupta and SSP Anayat Ali Choudhary also came under attack as a volley of bullets hit their vehicles. They are unhurt.
ADG (Jammu zone) Anand Jain, who oversaw the operation, said a large cache of weapons — including an M4 carbine, an AK-47 assault rifle, 10 magazines, 382 live ammunition, IEDs, and eight grenades — over Rs 2 lakh in cash, and Pakistan-made food items and medicines, including painkiller shots, were found.
He cautioned that there might be more terrorists hiding in the area, as the slain terrorists had recently infiltrated from across the Pakistan border.
Without naming Pakistan, ADG Jain said: “It is our hostile neighbour who always tries to damage the peaceful environment in our country.”
About the Chattergala checkpost attack, DIG (Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban range) Shridhar Patil said: “It is a hilly and forested area. Tactically we go slow as we have to eliminate terrorists and also prioritise the safety of our people. We have also involved Kathua police because the area is close to Kathua.” He also informed that “temporary security camps have been set up in the upper reaches” following intelligence alerts about suspicious movement in the area.
(inputs from Bhopal)