For the last three days, a massive operation is going on at many places in Jammu division to nab terrorists and their supporters.
Some have been detained and more than 20 suspects are being interrogated. The operations were launched on Monday when Doda-Kishtwar range police launched operations at 40 locations in the backdrop of recent terror incidents. Since then operations are going on at around 50 locations. The operations were launched by joint teams of Jammu and Kashmir Police, Army and paramilitary forces in the uplands, foothill settlements and residential areas of the districts including Kishtwar, Doda, Rajouri. Poonch, and Udhampur. Earlier, two Village Defense Guards (VDGs) were abducted and later killed by terrorists in Kishtwar district in the second week of the current month. Two days after the killing of two VDGs, an Army junior commissioned officer (JCO) was killed while three other commandos were injured in an encounter with terrorists in a remote forest area in Kishtwar district.
Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar of 2 Para (Special Force) was killed while three other commandos were injured in the firing in Bharat Ridge area of Kishtwar on November 10.
“We are interrogating more than 20 people identified during the search. These are suspicious persons. Some of them have been detained, and investigation is underway,” a senior officer from zonal police headquarters Jammu told Greater Kashmir on Wednesday.
“The objective of the operation is to dismantle the network of Over Ground Workers (OGWs) providing logistical support to terrorist organizations like Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT),” he said.
On Wednesday, a large-scale operation was conducted to arrest terrorists in Chhatru of Kishtwar and Desa of Doda. “We are leaving no stone unturned in destroying the terrorist infrastructure and ensuring the safety of civilians,” the senior officer said. The new offensive comes amid broader efforts to curb terrorism in the Jammu division, with officials determined to maintain hard-won stability in the region.
Officials said the operation included combing densely forested areas, house-to-house searches in sensitive areas and deploying drones for aerial surveillance. He said special attention has been paid to monitoring activities along the Line of Control (LoC) to prevent infiltration attempts.
“This is a collective fight to ensure peace and security. Senior Army officers of the Udhampur-based Northern Command said the role of the public is important in identifying and isolating anti-national elements.
He said counter-terrorism operations and security measures have been stepped up in view of the recent terrorist attacks, including targeted attacks on security forces and civilians in Kishtwar and earlier at other places. “These incidents have underlined the continued threat posed by terrorists trying to revive terrorism in Jammu, especially in the Pir Panjal areas,” he said.
On Tuesday evening, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Jammu, Anand Jain, confirmed some of the arrests in a post on Twitter. “Jammu and Kashmir Police conducted massive raids targeting OGWs and terror suspects associated with proscribed organizations like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in several districts of Jammu region. Arrests have been made, and incriminating material has been recovered. Investigations are ongoing to ensure peace in the area,” he said in the post on X.
