Injured ultra flees with associates
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 22: In yet another attack, terrorists targeted the house of a Shaurya Chakra awardee Village Defence Guard (VDG) and a security post at village Gundha Khawas in Budhal area of Rajouri district in wee hours of this morning injuring relative of the VDG member and security personnel. A terrorist was injured in retaliatory firing by the troops but he managed to escape along with his associates.
Officials said a group of terrorists, reportedly three in numbers, lobbed grenade and opened firing on the house of VDG member and Shaurya Chakra awardee Purshotam Kumat at 3.10 am at Gunda Khawas in Budhal area. They simultaneously opened firing on an adjacent security post of the Army.
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However, alert troops of the Army immediately retaliated and thwarted the terror attack. One of the terrorists is reported to have been injured in the operation but he was taken by his fleeing associates with them.
Terrorists targeted the house of Purshotam Kumar, who had gunned down a Pakistani terrorist in the same village on August 6, 2023, presuming that he was present in the house. However, he was not in the house but in the firing, Kumar’s uncle Vijay Kumar son of Badri Nath and an Army soldier sustained minor injuries. Both of them were taken to the hospital for treatment.
SSP Rajouri Randeep Kumar along with police teams and reinforcement of Army and paramilitary forces reached the spot soon after the terror attack and joint searches were launched for the terrorists. However, a contact with the terrorists hasn’t been established so far.
On August 6, 2023, movement of two foreign terrorists was observed at Gunda Khawas and the VDG members reacted immediately. Purshotam Kumar killed one of the terrorists and was awarded Shaurya Chakra which was given to him recently by the President in New Delhi. Another terrorist had slipped to surrounding areas of Reasi district and was killed there by security forces.
Officials said the terrorists planned to target Purshotam Kumar but their plot was foiled by security forces.
In April this year, the terrorists opened firing in the house of a Territorial Army jawan near Shahdara Sharief in Rajouri but he was not present. His brother, a Government official, was killed in the firing.
“Terrorists attacked the house of a VDC (member) at Gundha, Rajouri at 03.10 hours. A nearby Army column reacted and a firefight ensued,” White Knight Corps said on X.
“Operations are continuing,” it added.
It further said that the Indian Army acted on intelligence, anticipating the threat to a VDG in a remote area in Rajouri-Reasi.
“Tactical teams swiftly intervened, ensuring no harm to the VDG member and his family”, it said.
The operations are continuing and the firefight is in progress, the Corps said.
The attack has triggered fear in the area due to the threat of the presence of the terrorists in the region.
“We are terrorised over this attack, which took place in the area after several years. It was a peaceful area. Firing started around 3 am and kept continuing,” a local woman said.
Another villager said that it is time to rearm VDGs with modern weapon and communication technology to take on the terrorists operating in the hills of Jammu.
Today’s terror attack is the 14th incident in Jammu region in which 10 security personnel including two officers, 9 pilgrims lost their lives and 58 others were injured. Five terrorists were neutralised during the period.
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