Security agencies review situation at high level meet
Operation enters 12th day in Mendhar, success elusive
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Oct 22: Army handed over two porters of Surankote working with it to police for questioning in connection with October 11 operation at Chamrer forests in which five soldiers including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) were martyred while the troops defused two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and top brass of Army, BSF and Police reviewed security scenario at Nagrota headquarters of 16 Corps, also known as White Knight Corps, as operations in the Pir Panjal mountains entered 12th day today without any success against the militants.
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Two porters, who were detained by the Army and later handed over to Surankote Police for questioning, have been identified as Tariq Khan son of Latief Khan and Liaquat Hussain son of Mir Baaz, both residents of Mastandhara in Surankote.
“Their suspicious movement had been noticed few days back. Also their mobile telephones were under scrutiny,” sources told the Excelsior, adding they have been detained in connection with FIR No. 352/2021 and Sections 302/120-B/121/122/123 IPC and 7/25, 26/27 Indian Arms Act which was registered on October 11 after five Army jawans were martyred at Chamrer forests in Surankote tehsil of Poonch district in an encounter with the militants.
These are the first detentions in Surankote while in Mendhar, police have already picked up 10 persons including some females for providing food and shelter to the militants at Bhatta Durrian forests where the militants involved in Surankote encounter are now trapped.
“The porters, who were engaged with same unit of the Army which suffered casualties at Chamrer, are being questioned by police,” sources said. Police officials, however, declined to comment on the detentions.
In the afternoon, Army detected two IEDs concealed in two separate boxes and planted by the militants in Bhatta Durrian forests of Mendhar.
Sources said the militants had planted the IEDs inside the forests where troops are engaged in search operation to cause casualties but timely detection of the explosive devices foiled the militant plot.
Later, a Bomb Disposal Squad destroyed the IEDs on spot.
This is the second instance of IEDs being detected by troops during last two days. An Army patrol had yesterday detected and defused an IED fitted in the branch of a tree in the forest area of Sawalkote in Ratangir ridge and later defused it.
Meanwhile, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 16 Corps Lieutenant General MV Suchindra Kumar today held high-level review of security situation at Nagrota headquarters of the Corps.
The Security Conference was among others attended by GOC Counter Insurgency Force (CIF) Doda, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Jammu Mukesh Singh, IGP CRPF and DIG BSF.
The Conference is reported to have reviewed security situation in the Jammu region with special reference to anti-militancy operations in Poonch and upcoming visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Jammu on October 24.
Shah will be on three-day visit of the Union Territory from October 23-25 during which he will reach Jammu on October 24. He will arrive here in the morning of October 24 and will leave for Srinagar the same evening. Tight security arrangements have been made by all security agencies in connection with visit of the Home Minister which is his first to Jammu and Kashmir after abrogation of special status of erstwhile State and its bifurcation into the two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
Army’s operations against the militants in Poonch district entered 12th day today but the success remained elusive.
A total of nine Army soldiers have been martyred in the operations—five in Chamrer forests of Surankote and four in Bhatta Durrian jungles of Mendhar in Poonch district.
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