Gun battles expose infiltration route on IB
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 16: A major plan of the terrorist groups has been scuttled with recovery of large quantities of arms, ammunition and explosives from Sanyal and Safiyan Jakhole in Kathua district where two terrorists were eliminated by security forces while four police personnel were martyred.
The encounters have also exposed the route used by terrorists to infiltrate into this side from across the International Border (IB).
“We are chasing the remaining three to four terrorists who escaped the encounters and are on the run. We are confident of tracking and neutralizing them soon,” SSP Kathua Shobit Saxena told reporters at Rajbagh police station in Kathua district today.
The seized material including sophisticated weapons, explosives and daily-use items were displayed at the police station.
Saxena said a tight security grid is in place in the district, from the border villages to hinterland, leading to the successful operations against the terrorists.
“The encounters exposed their traditional (infiltration) route. We will not allow them to use this route again,” he said, adding the recoveries showed that they had come with ill intention and were prepared for a long stay.
The district police chief Kathua said the seizure of a huge quantity of explosive material thwarted their plan to carry out Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) blasts, while some quantity of heroin suggested that they were also consuming drugs.
He praised the cooperation of the people in the anti-terrorist operations and said the “civil population helped us a lot and are providing immediate information which helped us to make an assessment about the terrorists on the run and are accordingly planning our operations to neutralize them”.
According to evidence, Saxena said terrorists had recently sneaked into this side from across the border but police “did not allow them to succeed in their nefarious designs”.
On local support to terrorists, he said 30 people have been identified and booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) in the district so far.
Among the material seized from the terrorists include two AK assault rifles, one M4 carbine, grenades, and sophisticated gadgets for navigation, clothes, sleeping bags, Pakistan-make medicines, beverages and food items.
First contact between security forces and terrorists was established at Sanyal on March 23 after locals observed movement of the terrorists.
The second contact took place on March 27 at Safiyan Jakhole in which two terrorists were killed while four cops were martyred. Encounters later continued at different places for next one week but the remaining terrorists remained untraced.
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