Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 30: Police and para-military Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) today conducted massive search operations along Dayala Chak-Ramkote road in Kathua district after driver of a TATA Mobile, which was on way from Hiranagar to Billawar, claimed to have observed movement of two militants in Army fatigues at village Kotha, about eight kilometers from Dayala Chak towards Ramkote early this morning.
Reports said the driver informed police around 6 am that he spotted two militants moving in village Kotha in Army dresses carrying arms with them. He claimed that the militants were moving on back side of a Punjabi dhaba towards village Salan.
Immediately after getting a report, police and para-military personnel led by senior officers rushed to the spot and cordoned off village Kotha and other surrounding areas and launched massive searches.
Every kind of vehicular movement on Dayala Chak-Ramkote was immediately suspended, reports said, adding the searches continued till late this evening but no traces of militants were found. Traffic on the road was restored after few hours after police and CRPF personnel were deployed in strength on the road.
Senior police officers including SSP Kathua Mohan Lal, SDPO Border Diwakar Singh and others rushed to the spot and co-ordinated the search operation, which continued throughout the day.
The search operation was finally suspended at 5.30 pm, sources said, adding that the movement of the militants appeared to be hoax.
However, as a precautionary measure, police authorities have maintained deployment of CRPF and police in the entire Ramkote belt during the night.
Sources said police was not taking any chances after March 28 fidayeen attack at Tarnah bridge and conducting searches everywhere they received reports from the local people about movement of the militants.
Meanwhile, senior officers of various security and Intelligence agencies were engaged in hectic investigations to find out the route taken by the militants for infiltration into the Indian territory. Sources said the security agencies have not reached a conclusion so far on route taken by the militants.
“Various theories were being explored but no definite leads have been established to find out the route used by the three fidayeens to reach Tarnah bridge on Jammu-Pathankot National Highway,” sources said.
Worthwhile to mention that three foreign terrorists had surfaced at Tarnah bridge on March 28 morning and opened firing on a Bolero killing a passenger and injuring three others. They had hijacked Bolero along with driver and took it to Janglote in Kathua, where they killed the driver and attacked the Army camp, in which one Army jawan was killed and another injured. All three fidayeen were killed in retaliatory firing by Army, CRPF and police.
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