Security forces discover carbine magazines, victuals as search op on in Kathua for infiltrators

Jammu, Mar 24 (PTI) A large quantity of material, including several magazines of M-4 carbine and a bulletproof jacket, was discovered as a search operation to neutralise a group of infiltrating terrorists continued on Monday in Kathua district, officials said.

The operation was launched Sunday evening in the Hiranagar sector and was intensified with additional deployment of commandos, drones, and sniffer dogs this morning, they said, adding that a chopper was also deployed later.

The operation was launched by police with a Special Operations Group after they got intelligence about the presence of terrorists inside a ‘dhok’ — a local term for an enclosure — in a nursery in Sanyal village, approximately five km from the International Border with Pakistan, officials said.

The hiding terrorists launched a barrage of fire at the police party, leading to an intense gunfight that lasted for more than half an hour, they said

Reinforcements were swiftly dispatched, as a manhunt was launched to apprehend the terrorists, believed to have infiltrated on Saturday via either the ravine route or through a newly created tunnel.

There has been no report of any casualty in the initial firing and the area was kept under a tight security cordon throughout the night before the security forces moved in at the crack of dawn, officials said.

Though there has been no fresh contact with the terrorists, the search parties found a few M4 carbine magazines, sleeping bags, tracksuits, several packets of eatables, and separate polythene bags, the contents of which will be known only when they are opened by the bomb disposal squad, they said.

Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat directed the operation from the ground.

One of the inputs suggested that two groups of at least five terrorists each infiltrated on Saturday.

According to officials, some village women collecting firewood reported seeing around five terrorists who had sought refuge in the expansive nursery area.

A seven-year-old girl sustained minor injuries when a stray bullet passed close to her arm. She was shifted to a local hospital.

A 48-year-old villager, Anita Devi, said heavily armed terrorists caught hold of her husband when they were at the nursery to collect firewood.

“The terrorists held my husband at gunpoint and asked me to come near. But my husband signalled me to run and I ran. One of the terrorists tried to stop me but I started shouting, which attracted the attention of two more people who were cutting grass,” Anita Devi told PTI.

She said the incident occurred around 4.30 pm on Sunday, and they all returned home and informed police. They were wearing beards and commando dresses, Anita Devi said.

District Development Councillor Karan Kumar also said heavy gunfire was heard in the region.

“An atmosphere of fear has gripped the village by the terrorist presence. We heard around 250 rounds of gunfire,” Kumar said, adding security forces have encircled the entire area to flush out the terrorists.

Kathua has emerged as a major infiltrating route for Pakistan-based terrorists to reach the higher reaches of Udhampur, Doda, and Kishtwar districts and further to Kashmir, over the past year.

After carrying out deadly attacks in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch over the past four years, terror activities spread to six other districts in the Jammu region in 2024, leaving 44 people, including 18 security personnel and 13 terrorists, dead.

Though the Pir Panjal districts of Rajouri and Poonch witnessed a considerable drop in terror activities in 2024 as compared to the previous years, the series of incidents in Reasi, Doda, Kishtwar, Kathua, Udhampur and Jammu from April-May onwards last year became a concern for the security agencies.

According to official data, nine people were killed in Doda, Kathua and Reasi districts, five in Kishtwar, four in Udhampur, three each in Jammu and Rajouri, and two in Poonch in 2024. Those killed included 18 security personnel and 13 terrorists.

This year, Kathua was also rocked by protests after the mysterious death of five people in the remote Billawar tehsil.

Bodies of 15-year-old Varun Singh, his paternal uncle Yogesh Singh, 32, and maternal uncle Darshan Singh, 40, were found in the Ishu nullah in the remote Malhar area in the higher reaches of Kathua on March 8. They had gone missing on March 5 while attending a wedding.

On February 16, Shamsher, 37 and Roshan, 45, were found dead in Kohag village in Billawar. Post-mortem revealed they were strangled.