The gunfight in the remote forest area in Kathua district continued for a second day on Friday while the body of a policeman was recovered, taking the death toll in two day encounter to seven including four cops and three terrorists.
“The body of another policeman was sighted using a drone today near the encounter spot. The body of the policeman was retrieved during the day by the security personnel,” a security official said.
He said with the recovery of the body of the policeman, the death toll in the two day encounter has risen to seven including four policemen and three terrorists.
Four security men including a DySP and a para commando have been injured in the gunfight. They have been hospitalised.
Heavy firing and deafening sounds of explosions continued for the second day as police assisted by the Army and CRPF moved this morning from different directions, after a night halt to sanitise the Safiyan area, sources said.
The security forces resumed the operation with the first light of the day, having the primary focus to retrieve the bodies of the deceased, finding a missing policeman and neutralising any other threat.
They said the joint security parties are moving cautiously to the targeted area.
The operation, centred near Jakhole village in the Ghati Juthana area of Rajbagh, against the terrorists started around 8 am on Thursday amid intensified operations led by police against the ultras who had recently infiltrated from across the International Border in Hiranagar sector, the officials said.
However, it was not immediately clear whether it was the same group that had been evading an earlier cordon in Sanyal forest of Hiranagar or another batch of infiltrated terrorists.
On Sunday, a group of terrorists was intercepted within a ‘dhok’ in a nursery in Sanyal village near the International Border with Pakistan in the Hiranagar sector.
A subsequent search operation, involving the police, army, NSG, BSF and CRPF, utilised advanced technical and surveillance equipment to track down the militants.
“Despite the massive search operation, the terrorists managed to escape the initial cordon, the officials said, adding it is assumed that the same group could have been possibly spotted near Jakhole, approximately 30 km from the initial encounter site,” sources said.
The search teams discovered evidence on Monday, including four loaded magazines of M4 carbine, two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, sleeping bags, tracksuits, food packets, and materials for constructing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) near the Hiranagar encounter site.
The People’s Anti-Fascist Front, a proxy outfit of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), claimed responsibility for the encounter.
Army’s rising star corps, whose troops are involved in the operation, lauded the police personnel involved in the operation.
“Rising Star Corps salutes the valor & indomitable spirit of the brave (J&K) Police personnel who made the supreme sacrifice fighting valiantly during the ongoing OP (operation) Safiyan in Kathua. Their courage and dedication will always be remembered,” the Army said in a post on X.