- Pakistani marking on shoes/medicines indicates slain terrorist as Pakistani: ADGP
- The synergy between SFs, police & people yielding positive results: GOC Romeo Force.
- India made sensitive & modern gadgets/equipment & firearms helping in achieving desired targets: GOC
Shyam Sood
Rajouri, August 6: District Police Rajouri, CRPF, and Army in a joint operation have so far killed one terrorist in a forest in the vicinity of a remote Gunda village in the Khawas area in the Koteranka sub-division of Rajouri district in the ongoing operation.
Additional Director General of Police Jammu, Mukesh Singh has confirmed the elimination of one terrorist & said: “One terrorist killed in an encounter with security forces. Encounter is going on in Khawas area of Rajouri”.
Special Forces were also deployed in operation besides utilising the services of night-enabled quadcopters, unmanned aerial vehicles & sniffer dogs,” said PRO Defence (Jammu), Lt. Col. Suneel Bartwal .
The body of the unidentified terrorist has been recovered along with Arms, ammunition, hand grenades, medicines/clothes (Pakistan made) etc.
“Shoes & medicines have Pakistani markings indicating that the slain terrorist is Pakistani. For his involvement in the Dhangri-Rajouri terror attack-in which 7 people were killed on January 1 & 2-locals- will be asked for his identification” said ADGP Jammu Zone, Mukesh Singh.
The recovery of raincoats & eatables also suggests that the terrorists were trained to survive in the forests.
ADGP also informed that the bag of another terrorist was also recovered during the search of the area containing arms & ammunition and effort is being made to eliminate the second terrorist soon, ADGP added.
The recoveries include 1 AK series rifle along with 5 magazines, 2 pistols, 4 hand grenades, and cash etc.
ADGP also said that 2-3 terrorist groups are still operating in Rajouri & Poonch districts.
While interacting with reporters at District Police Lines, ADGP along with GOC Romeo Force & DIG Rajouri-Poonch Dr. Haseeb Mugal appreciated the cooperation of the people during the ongoing operation.
GOC, Romeo Force, Mohit Trivedi said: “Synergy between Security Forces, police, &locals yielding positive results. We are now using high-quality make in India sensitive & modern gadgets equipment, and firearms to achieve desired targets and we assure to bring peace in the area with the help of people”.
Sources said in the afternoon on Saturday initially a woman and in the afternoon a VDC member spotted 3-4 terrorists sitting in a Dori-Thera forest near Gunda village while grazing domestic animals.
He informed his colleagues (VDC members) who rushed to the forest to keep watch on the movement of terrorists and also informed the police at the Khawas police post a few kms from the targeted spot.
Before the police and CRPF personnel could reach the spot, VDC members continued to keep watch on the movement of terrorists and later joined the action by the Security Forces against terrorists.
On Challenging, terrorists opened fire on the Security Forces and a gunfight started, which was later joined by the Army.
It is also said that the VDC members have eliminated the terrorist and the information is yet to be confirmed by the senior police officers.
When contacted an ex-sarpanch of village Uddan said that they had no information about the presence of a group of terrorists in their area.
“The group seems to be recently reached in this area and timely detection of the terrorists by a VDC member has averted major tragedy to be executed by this group ahead of Independence Day celebrations,” said ex-sarpanch.
He also informed that high school Gunda is just two km from the encounter site and there are many houses of minority community in this area.
Only on Friday ADGP Jammu Zone, Mukesh Singh, IPS, accompanied by Div Com Jammu, Ramesh Kumar, IAS and DID Rajouri-Poonch Range, Dr. Haseeb Mughal convened a security review meeting at Rajouri and took stock of the security scenario in the wake of forthcoming Independence Day.
It is pertinent to mention here that in the month of July, an alert was sounded about the likely target killings in the minority pockets in the district.
