No fresh contact with terrorists
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 25: Search operations at village Sanyal in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district continued on Day 3 with multiple security agencies trying to hunt down the terrorists but no contact has been established with them since Sunday evening. Searches were also launched at village Dinga Amb in the same sector after another woman claimed that she spotted two terrorists.
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The operation, led by Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, was launched on Sunday evening in the Hiranagar sector following an encounter between security forces and terrorists hiding in a nursery.
As the security forces moved deep inside the cordoned off area this morning, a barrage of gunfire was heard. However, officials said it was speculative firing resorted by the troops after noticing some suspicious movement.
An Army helicopter was seen hovering over the area as the joint troops of the Army, including commandos equipped with heavy weapons, sniffer dogs, drones and unmanned aerial vehicles continued the search for the terrorists believed to be trapped in the area, the officials said.
The search operation has been expanded in surrounding villages as well. Searches were also conducted at Dinga Amb but no movement of the terrorists was observed so far as claimed by a woman.
The operation at Sanyal was launched by a Special Operations Group of police after they got intelligence about the presence of terrorists inside a ‘dhok’ – in a nursery in Sanyal village, approximately five km from the International Border with Pakistan, officials said.
There has been no let up in search operations with several security agencies joining the operation as number of terrorists who reportedly infiltrated from Pakistan is believed to be five.
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 on Monday found four loaded magazines of M4 carbine, two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, 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.
The police chief, who along with Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone, Bhim Sen Tuti is camping in Kathua, was seen leading from the front deep inside the forested area, holding an AK assault rifle and directing the operation from the ground.
One of the inputs suggested that two groups of at least five terrorists each infiltrated on Saturday. The local villagers, meanwhile, organized a community kitchen for the security personnel and the media persons at the outer cordon.
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.
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