A terrorist, suspected to be affiliated with the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit, was killed in a remote village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, officials said on Sunday.
Another encounter also broke out in the Thanamandi area of Rajouri district on Sunday(September 29, 2024) evening when security forces launched a cordon and search operation for two terrorists, the officials said.
“Based on specific intelligence about the presence of terrorists, a joint search operation was launched by security forces at Manial Gali in Thanamandi. Contact has been established, and a few rounds have been fired by both sides,” a police official said.
Body recovered
Earlier in the day, a live hand grenade was found on the banks of a stream in the area, and the device was later destroyed by experts in a controlled explosion.
In Kathua district, the body of an unidentified terrorist was recovered this afternoon from the scene of the Saturday evening encounter at Kog-Mandli in Billawar tehsil, taking the death toll in the two-day operation to two, the officials said.
They said a grenade launcher, some grenades, and other materials were recovered from the possession of the slain terrorist, while a massive search operation is underway to neutralise other foreign terrorists.
Family members at the wreath-laying ceremony of J&K Police head constable Bashir Ahmad in Jammu on September 29, 2024. He lost his life in an encounter with terrorists. | Photo Credit: ANI
Head constable Bashir Ahmad laid down his life, and two officers — Deputy Superintendent of Police (Operations) Sukhbir Singh and Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Niaz Ahmad — were injured when terrorists attacked a joint security search party on Saturday evening.
Director General of Police R.R. Swain paid tributes to the fallen policeman, saying “Bashir did not fear death when it came to protecting his community and countrymen.”
Additional Director General of Police, Jammu zone, Anand Jain, said the search operation was launched in the village on Saturday following information about the presence of three to four foreign terrorists in a house.
Talking to reporters near the scene of the encounter, he said both the injured officers are stable.
“The whole area is under a security cordon, and an operation is underway to neutralise the terrorists hiding in the area," he said.
Security for polls
Asked about the significance of the encounters ahead of the third phase of polls on October 1, the police officer said operations against terrorists will continue.
“We are getting continuous information about terrorists and conducting operations to neutralise them as soon as possible,” he said.
He said adequate security arrangements have been made in all poll-bound areas.
Besides Kathua, the third phase covers Jammu, Udhampur, and Samba districts in the Jammu region and north Kashmir’s Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora districts.
The DGP, in a statement, condoled the demise of the head constable and said that the entire police force stands behind his family.
“While the J-K police force cannot bring back HC Bashir, it undertakes to extend every possible support to the family and avenge the martyrdom of the courageous Bashir who did not fear death when it came to protecting his community and countrymen and gave hell to the foreign terrorists with his LMG before succumbing to his injuries,” he said.
The police chief prayed for the speedy recovery of injured personnel.
Published - September 29, 2024 02:44 pm IST
