Representative photo
JAMMU: Two terror suspects were detained in Cantonment Area in J&K’s Samba district on Monday, even as multiple cordon-and-search operations continued across several regions of Jammu division, including snowbound Kishtwar’s Chatroo-Dolgam-Dichhar belt, where Operation Trashi-I entered its 16th day. Late Sunday, a search operation was launched in Joffer area in Udhampur’s Rampur sector following reports of suspicious movement.“Terrorist movement was reported in the upper reaches of Udhampur. Search operations are also underway in the high-altitude, forested areas of Poonch, Rajouri, Kathua, Doda, and Reasi districts,” an official said.Around 10.30am Monday, a Quick Reaction Team caught two men near an old quarter of the Army in railway area. “One person was sleeping outside, near the shaft, while the other was found inside. Both were taken into custody and sent to Bari Brahmana PS for further action,” an official source said. “One of the men was identified as Muneer Khan from Chang, in Jammu district. He said he works in Flaxfour Company, Bari Brahmana. The other man was identified as Pawan Singh from Neeli village in Udhampur district,” the source added. On Jan 6, Punjab Police detained a minor in Pathankot on charges of spying and for allegedly sharing confidential information via social media to terror agencies, ISI, and Pakistan military officers. The detention prompted a statewide alert for similar espionage activities involving children.Due to its proximity to the international border, Samba serves as a gateway for terrorists to reach Kashmir Valley via the upper reaches of Samba-Udhampur-Doda-Kishtwar. The district remains a hotspot of terrorist activities.Under Operation Trashi-I, security forces have engaged in four encounters with terrorists in the past fortnight. Initial contact was established in Sonnar forest near Mandral-Singhpora, Chatroo, on Jan 18, in which eight security personnel were injured, one of whom eventually succumbed. On Jan 22, another gunfight broke out with holed-up ultras in Singhpora. Yet another firefight followed on Jan 24, in which a Pakistani Jaish terrorist was shot dead. A brief gun battle occurred in Dolgam on Jan 31.Braving inclement weather, troops have been trudging through hostile, forested terrain to track and kill a group of three holed-up ultras. Security agencies were also trying to trace terrorist sympathisers who may have helped the ultras with food and shelter. Mobile internet services (all bandwidths) have remained temporarily suspended within a 6km-radius covering Singhpora, Chingam, and Chatroo since Jan 30 as a security measure.Officials said the terrorists, on the run for more than two weeks now, had been continuously changing hideouts. Additional forces were roped in to fortify the cordon, and sniffer dogs were deployed to assist the troops on the ground. The region was put under aerial surveillance using drones and choppers to plug possible escape routes.
