More troops rushed, operation on
M4 Carbine among the seizure
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 14: An Army Captain was martyred and a terrorist was killed while a civilian was injured in the gun battle that raged on since last evening in Shivgarh-Assar belt of Doda district even as security forces continued searches amid reports that three more ultras could be hiding in the jungles. Large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives including an American made M4 Carbine and an AK-47 rifle have so far been recovered from the spot.
Additional enforcement of Army, paramilitary forces, police and Special Operations Group (SOG) have reached the forests to ensure that the terrorists, believed to be foreigners don’t manage to escape.
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The encounter started last evening after troops during searches established contact with the terrorists. Intermittent exchange of firing continued throughout the last night. In the gun battle, Captain Deepak Singh was injured and later succumbed to the injuries. Body of one of the terrorists has been recovered from the jungles of Shivgarh-Assar belt which borders Patnitop forests on one side and Dudu on the other. A civilian sustained minor injuries.
An M4 Carbine, an AK-47 rifle, four grenades and 30 bullets have been recovered from the forests.
Reports said number of the terrorists who were trapped in the gun battle was stated to be four and all of them were believed to be the foreigners. Capt Deepak Singh, 26, a resident of Dehradun in Uttarakhand, was leading troops from the front and fought bravely before suffering bullet injuries. He attained martyrdom. His body has been shifted to the hospital with full military honours and will be flown to his hometown after wreath laying ceremony.
The martyr was a bachelor.
Slain terrorist was stated to be a foreigner. “One terrorist has been neutralised in the ongoing operation. One AK 47 has been recovered. Intermittent exchange of firing continues as the operations are ongoing,” the Army said in a post on X.
Officials said efforts to eliminate three remaining terrorists are on. A civilian was also injured in the encounter that broke out on the eve of Independence Day and is the latest in a series of incidents in the Jammu region that has witnessed a spike in violence of late.
This is the fourth encounter in recent days in the Udhampur-Doda-Kishtwar region.
There were reports that two to three groups of well-trained terrorists are moving between mountains of Udhampur, Doda and Kishtwar districts. Security forces continued search operations at different places to eliminate them.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Anand Jain reached the Assar area along with top officers to supervise the operation.
Ahead of his visit to Doda, the ADGP told reporters in Jammu that around 2 pm the operation was still underway. “The operation is going on. Efforts are on,” he said.
The Army expressed its deepest condolence on the officer’s death and said the force stands with the bereaved family.
All ranks of the White Knight Corps salute the supreme sacrifice of braveheart Captain Deepak Singh, it said.
The terrorists crossed into Doda from a forest area near Patnitop in adjacent Udhampur district after a brief exchange of fire between security forces and the ultras there on Tuesday evening, officials said.
They said the security forces established contact with the terrorists in Udhampur around 6 pm on Tuesday. An encounter broke out about half an hour later and continued intermittently until both sides paused. A cordon was established overnight.
The search was resumed at dawn.
At about 7:30 am on Wednesday, there was a renewed exchange of fire in Doda where the terrorists had fled to, the officials said.
Two encounters between security forces and terrorists were reported on Sunday in the remote forest areas of Nownatta in Kishtwar district and Basantgarh in Udhampur district.
Following these encounters, the terrorists had fled to the Doda hills.
On June 26, three ultras, suspected to be affiliated with the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), were killed in a gunfight in Doda’s Gandoh area.
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