Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 30: Two Village Defence Guards (VDGs) opened firing after observing suspicious movement in Kalakote area of Rajouri district tonight following which police and security forces swung into action and launched a search operation.
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Reports said the VDGs-Suresh Kumar and Rashpaul fired three rounds each from the guns assigned to them at Kalakote tonight after they spotted mysterious movement in the area.
However, no one was injured in the firing.
Police, SOG and security forces have reached the spot and launched searches, the officials said.
Meanwhile, movement of a drone was spotted in Phulpur area of Samba sector this evening. Security forces have started a search operation in the area.
Meanwhile, security forces today launched cordon and search operations along border areas and the mountainous hinterland of Poonch and Kishtwar districts as part of heightened anti-terror measures.
Acting on inputs about the presence of two terrorist groups operating in the Doda-Kishtwar forest areas, security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Keshwan-Chatroo valley after apprehending terrorist movement.
Troops used drones and other aerial surveillance equipment to monitor the area in a bid to track down the terrorists.
According to reports, two groups of Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists, with two to three operatives each, are believed to be present in the area, which has witnessed encounters in the past.
The Romeo Force of the Army also conducted search operations at Khanetar Top along the Indo-Pak border in Poonch and adjoining areas following suspected terrorist movement, the officials said, adding that the troops were equipped with aerial surveillance support and sniffer dogs.
Additionally, security forces have intensified vehicle checking along the Pathankot-Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Kathua, Samba, Jammu and Udhampur districts as part of heightened alert ahead of the New Year.
The border security grid too has been further strengthened. The police have activated Village Defence Guards and border police along the Indo-Pak border in view of possible infiltration from across the border.
Army has been maintaining high alert along the Line of Control (LoC) in twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch while the BSF has stepped up patrolling all along the International Border (IB) in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts to thwart infiltration attempts by the terrorists under the cover of foggy weather conditions.
Though no major infiltration attempt has been reported in the Jammu region in the past some time, there have been reports that some groups of terrorists have been camping on Pakistan side of the border waiting for an opportunity to sneak-in.
Last visible infiltration was reported in March this year in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district. In the gun-battle that lasted few days, four police personnel were martyred and two terrorists were killed.
The electronic gadgets have also been installed in large numbers all along the International Border to keep strict surveillance on undesirable activities on Pakistan side. The equipments that can beat the fog are also in place.
There have been specific inputs of presence of the terrorists on Pakistan side of the border waiting for an opportunity to infiltrate into this side especially during the winters taking cover of thick fog.
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