The Jammu and Kashmir police on Tuesday detained two persons for questioning as the operation to track down the absconding terrorists in Kishtwar district’s Chhatru area entered the third day. Sources said the two were listed as OGWs or overground workers in police records.
This follows the busting of a meticulously built underground hideout on Monday, big enough to accommodate four terrorists at a time and having rations and other essentials, including a gas cylinder, stove and utensils, to last months.
According to highly placed sources, security forces and the police believe such an underground and well-fortified hideout, with stone-lined walls and multiple entry and exit points at a height of nearly 12,000 feet, cannot be built without local support. This apprehension is bolstered by the fact that terrorists would have needed help procuring and transporting such a large quantity of rations and other essentials to that height, sources said.
Apart from atta, basmati rice and pulses, security forces also seized a dozen types of spices, packets of Maggi, biscuits and dry fruits. The terrorists had also stored enough dry wood to keep them warm during winter, sources said.
The hideout was built at a vantage point so that terrorists could keep a watch on anyone approaching them from a distance. (Express photo)
The hideout was built at a vantage point so that terrorists could keep a watch on anyone approaching them from a distance.
Meanwhile, senior police and security personnel, including Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone, Bhim Sen Tuti and Inspector General of CRPF, Jammu, R Gopala Krishna Rao, visited the encounter site to supervise the operation.
Eight soldiers were injured after they came under a grenade attack and gunfire on Sunday. One of them, Havildar Gajendra Singh of the Special Forces, succumbed to injuries later.
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As part of the operation to flush out terrorists, called Trashi-I, security forces and the police have launched searches in multiple directions. They believe two groups of Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists, one led by Saifullah and the other by Adil, both Pakistani nationals, have been active in the Chhatru area for the last two years. In total, nearly 35 Pakistani terrorists are believed to be hiding in the forests of the mountainous Doda and Kishtwar districts.