Ultras again infiltrated from IB, were on way to S Kashmir with huge weaponry
* Seized phone gives vital data to cops
* Possibility of tunnel being probed
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Jan 31: Security forces today gunned down three dreaded Pakistani militants, believed to be fidayeens of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit, in an encounter at Ban Toll Plaza near Nagrota on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway when they were trying to reach South Kashmir after crossing the International Border (IB) between Dayala Chak and Hiranagar sector from Pakistan.
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Three Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of the militants including their handler Sameer Ahmad Dar, who was driving the truck, Sartaj Ahmed Mantu and Asif Ahmad Malik, all residents of Kakpora, Pulwama, were arrested by the Special Operations Group (SOG) and police after the gunbattle and have been shifted to safer location for sustained questioning as they were part of JeM plot to cause wide spread disturbances in the Valley. Sameer Dar was cousin of February 14 Pulwama attack mastermind Adil Dar. Sameer’s real brother, Manzoor Malik, a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant, was killed in South Kashmir in 2016.
Police and security forces detained five more truck operators from Rhembal and Udhampur this evening. Two of them had called Sameer Dar on telephone but involvement of all of them was being investigated. They hailed from Pulwama and Ganderbal districts of Kashmir.
Slain militants were in possession of large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives including six rifles which indicated that they had to handover three weapons and part of ammunition to three other militants, who had already reached Kashmir.
Killing of three militants after infiltration from the IB during their movement to Kashmir and arrest of their OGWs was replica of September 13, 2018 encounter at Jhajjar Kotli in which security forces had successfully killed three Pakistani militants.
The truck had crossed Sarore Toll Plaza for Hiranagar from Gangyal at 2.36 am. It returned after carrying militants and again crossed Toll Plaza towards Jammu at 3.48 am. The truck had loaded bags from Gangyal earlier.
Though the militants were in possession of fence cutter, sources said, the BSF was also examining the possibility of underground tunnel existing in the area which the militants with help of Pakistani Rangers might be using for infiltration into the Indian side. However, all these possibilities were being investigated by the concerned agencies.
Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh told reporters at the site of encounter that all three slain militants were part of freshly infiltrated group between Dayala Chak and Hiranagar sector (falling in Kathua district) along the International Borders, and were on way to Kashmir when joint teams of police, CISF and CRPF intercepted them at Ban Toll Plaza. The operation was subsequently joined by the Army and SOG Jammu.
Dilbag told the Excelsior that the militants had taken Basantar route to cross the Nullah. He said Pakistan was desperate to revive militancy in Jammu and Kashmir as the Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit had been decimated.
He said all three militants were killed in the encounter but number of weapons recovered from their possession was six which indicated that the militants in Kashmir were running short of arms and three already operating militants in the Valley had to be given extra weapons by the group.
“All three slain militants appeared to be Pakistanis and belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit,” the J&K Police chief said.
CRPF Special DG Zulfqar Hassan also visited the site of encounter and later told media persons in the evening that the slain militants seemed to be fidayeens and major terror attacks have been averted with their elimination.
Hassan said there were reports that the militants were planning large scale disturbances post abrogation of Article 370 and movement of three militants in the truck towards Kashmir was part of the strategy.
“The operation is over and normal traffic has been restored on the National Highway,” the CRPF Special DG said.
DG CRPF Dr AP Maheshwari is visiting Nagrota tomorrow morning to review preparedness of the para-military forces.
Police sources told the Excelsior that a joint team of Nagrota police and CISF signaled truck No. JK03F-1478 for checking at Ban Toll Plaza ahead of Nagrota, about 28 kilometers from here on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway at about 5.15 am, and got suspicious as driver and two other persons sitting with him were not inclined to facilitate checking.
As the CISF personnel, who had first contact with the militants, insisted on removal of cover from the truck, the driver fled away from the spot, dropping hints of suspicious movement inside.
The para-military and police personnel then forcibly tried for checking prompting three militants sitting inside in special erected “cavity” to come out firing causing injuries to constable Bhom Raj of Nagrota police station.
Para-military and police personnel immediately retaliated and gunned down one of the militants on spot while two others fled towards surrounding Ban forest area. Truck driver and two OGWs of the militants also jumped out and escaped.
Army and SOG joined the operation to eliminate two remaining militants. After about three hour long searches, the militants were spotted in Ban forests and eliminated after fierce exchange of gunbattle.
All three militants were killed in about three-hour long operation.
In the meantime, SOG and police parties chased three fleeing OGWs including the truck driver and apprehended one of them from the adjoining tunnel and two others from Nandni. All of them were brought back to Nagrota for sustained questioning.
Identity of slain militants couldn’t be established but they were believed to be Pakistanis. They were wearing track suits and sports shoes of Adidas and Reebok and were carrying large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives with them including one US made M4 sniper rifle, five AK rifles, five pistols, walkie-talkie sets, binoculars, fence cutter and large quantity of ammunition and explosives.
The armoured piercing steel core ammunition which can go through Level 3 protection BP vehicles was also recovered from the possession of militants.
Truck No. JK03F-1478 in which the militants were being transported from Jammu to Kashmir, was owned by Mohammad Maqbool Wani and Wali Mohammad Wani of South Kashmir.
Sources said truck driver Sameer Dar had taken the truck in the queue of trucks transporting Government goods to the Valley to avoid checking but didn’t succeed the hawk eyes of para-military and police personnel.
Sources said Sameer Dar was main handler of the militants and he was fully aware of timing and place of the arrival of three militants from Pakistan through the International Border. Dar along with Sartaj and Firdous had brought the truck here and loaded it with bags of REON made Polyvinyl Chloride Suspension Resin, made by Reliance in Gujarat.
After loading the bags, they travelled towards Kathua and parked the truck near Dayala Chak. Soon after infiltration of the militants around 2.40 am early today, they packed the militants at specially made place for them inside the truck and started journey towards South Kashmir but were trapped at Ban Toll Plaza.
Sources said Sameer Dar might have been aware of similar attempts to transport militants from Jammu (after their infiltration from the International Border) to Kashmir and all three were being questioned by top police officials.
Meanwhile, police constable Bhom Raj, who was injured in the encounter, has been hospitalized in stable condition.
Mystery shrouded yet another successful infiltration attempt by the militants from the International Border in Kathua district. Sources said the possibility of a tunnel in the area is being examined and it wasn’t possible for the militants to infiltrate through fencing along with such a large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives.
Today’s killing of three militants at Ban Toll Plaza was almost replica of September 2018 encounter near Jhajjar Kotli on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in which three militants were killed while two OGWs, who were transporting the militants from Hiranagar to South Kashmir, were arrested.
Soon after the gunbattle broke out between security forces and militants, traffic on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was suspended while all educational institutions in Udhampur district were closed.
Traffic was restored on the Highway only after sanitization operations were completed and the road was declared free of militants.
Police parties led by IGP Jammu Zone Mukesh Singh, DIG Jammu Vivek Gupta, SSP Jammu Tejender Singh, SSP SOG Jammu Sandeep Mehta, SP Rural Suram Singh and SDPO Nagrota Mohan Sharma supervised the operation to eliminate the militants and apprehend three others.
The truck has been seized and its owners have also been called for questioning.
Security forces used choppers, drones and sniffer dogs in the operation.
This evening, police detained three truck operators at Rhembal and two in Udhampur as two of them had called Sameer Dar on telephone. They were handed over to Nagrota police to ascertain whether they were involved in transportation of militants or had called Dar in routine manner as they belonged to village Kakapora, Pulwama.
Udhampur police party led by SHO Vijay Choudhary and Rhembal police station team headed by SHO Varinder Gupta detained the suspects.
Ultras were carrying M4 Carbine, Sat phones
Slain militants were in possession of M4 Carbine, which is a very deadly weapon and is used only by top commanders of the militant outfits. Apart from this, the ultras were also carrying high end satellite communication phones, wireless sets and Global Positioning Systems.
DGP Dilbag Singh said M4 sniper rifle had been used by the militants in Kashmir in 2018 in five incidents targeting police personnel. In all the incidents, there were fatal casualties of police.
After hectic efforts and search operations, police had managed to recover the weapon bringing to an end the deadly incidents in the Valley.
“Had the M4 Carbine again fallen into the hands of militants, it could have proved disastrous for security personnel,” sources said.
The militants were also in possession of high end satellite communication phones and GPS.
OGWs used internet in Punjab to call militants
Arrested Over Ground Workers of militants had used WhatsApp and internet telephone calls to contact the militants in Pakistan, from Punjab as mobile internet services were suspended in Jammu and Kashmir since August 5.
Sources said the OGWs had transported apples to Rajasthan and pomegrenates from Amritsar before reaching Gangyal in Jammu where they loaded bags of Resin.
They had contacted the militants through WhatsApp and internet calls from Punjab where mobile internet services are working and fixed time and venue to pick up them after infiltration from Pakistan.
Sources added that mobile telephones of the OGWs have been seized to extract data.
Militants planted powerful IED at Nagrota
Militants had planted highly powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near a hoarding at Nagrota while travelling from somewhere near Hiranagar to Kashmir and before being intercepted at Bann Toll Plaza.
After getting information during questioning of three arrested OGWs, police team and Bomb Disposal Squad swung into action and defused the powerful IED fitted with RDX, grenades and other material and planted under a hoarding at Nagrota on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.
According to sources, the slain militants and OGWs were in touch with another module which had to detonate the IED later during movement of the convoy of security forces to cause casualties.
However, with the arrest of 3 OGWs and information given by them, police timely detected the highly powerful IED and got it defused in time through the Bomb Disposal Squad.
Cavity was made inside truck to hide infiltrators
In a unique idea used to hide militants from arrest or elimination during transportation from Jammu to Kashmir, the Over Ground Workers had created cavity inside the truck meant to ferry them to the Valley.
The L-shaped cavity was formed inside the truck to hide the militants and take them to Kashmir, officials said.
They added that the cavity was made while loading Polyvinyl Chloride Suspension Resin bags in the vehicle.
Police and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel uncovered the cavity created between the bags loaded in the truck during checking of the vehicles and asked the driver and two others to remove the cover and open the door of the truck.
During checking, police and CISF personnel saw a blanket and shoes near the gate and grew suspicious thinking as the truck was fully loaded with white bags, how come blanket and shoes are there?
As soon as they removed the cover, some men, hiding in the cavity, started firing at the security personnel, sources said.
There were three policemen, including an Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) and four CISF personnel, at the check post but they were unarmed.
Immediately thereafter, Army, CRPF, police and SOG personnel reached the spot.
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