One trooper of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) lost his life in the line of duty while the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police and Senior Superintendent of Police Kathua have a narrow escape after a terrorist fired a barrage of bullets on their vehicles amid the ongoing anti-terror operation in Hiranagar tehsil of Kathua district.
A massive search and combing operation was going on in the area to track down the terrorist who managed to escape after a Tuesday night encounter in the Saida Sukhal village near Kootah Morh in Hiranagar tehsil of Kathua district.
In the ongoing encounter Security forces, on Wednesday, recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition from the Hiranagar area of Kathua district.
The arms and ammunition recovered include three magazines containing 30 rounds, one magazine containing 24 rounds, 75 rounds in a separate polythene bag, three live grenades, Rupees one lakh currency notes of Rs 500 denomination, eatables including Pakistan-made chocolates, dry chenna and stale chapatis, Pakistan-made medicines and pain killer injections, two packs of A4 battery cells, one handset having antenna and two wires hanging from the handset.
One CRPF constable who got injured in this encounter succumbed to critical injuries in the hospital on Wednesday.
Reports said that early this morning a constable of CRPF sustained bullet injuries during firing by terrorists trapped in the area. He was shifted to the Sub District Hospital Hiranagar for treatment where he succumbed to injuries.
A terrorist has been already killed in the initial phase of the encounter which had ensued after an attack in the area in which a civilian was injured.
DIG, SSP narrowly escaped
The DIG of Jammu-Kathua range and the Senior Superintendent of Police Kathua narrowly escaped an attack when a terrorist opened fire on their vehicles during an ongoing anti-terror operation in Hiranagar, tehsil of Kathua district.
Reports said that senior police officers were monitoring the ongoing anti-terror operation in the Hiranagar area when the hiding terrorists restored to firing on their vehicle.
The terrorist fired over two dozen rounds. Fortunately, none of the officers or their personnel were harmed.
Terrorists infiltrated from the International Border
After the incident, the Jammu Police issued a statement in which it was mentioned that terrorists involved in attacking villagers were infiltrated recently.
"Two terrorists (who appeared to have freshly infiltrated) surfaced in village Saida Sukhal near Koota Morh of Police Station Hira Nagar in the late evening of 11 June", police said.
"Terrorists asked for water from a few houses to which villagers grew suspicious and slammed the doors on them and a few raised hue and cry. The terrorists panicked and fired randomly in the air and also at one odd villager who was passing by", reports said.
SHO Hiranagar and SDPO rushed to the spot, engaged the terrorists and one terrorist got killed while lobbing a grenade at the police party. Search for the other terrorist is on.
Police with the help of CRPF have cordoned the area. A search party is clearing the houses one by one. So far one family of husband and wife has been evacuated to hospital. While the wife is unhurt, the husband Omkar Nath S/o Dina Nath is injured in the arm and appears to be stable.
People asked not to believe rumours
Amid rumours that some civilians also lost their lives in the terror attack, police made it clear only one villager was injured in the incident.
"Members of the general public who are respected citizens are requested to wait for authentic information and not indulge in spreading different narratives that are unverified", police said, adding, "This is a national security challenge posed by hostile elements from across and instead of engaging the police in law order management, dear citizens are requested to assist and cooperate with the police in completing the operation logically and successfully so that the terrorists are killed and simultaneously the injured (if found) are evacuated for treatment.
Villagers are safe, no hostage
"It has come to attention that a significant amount of fake news is circulating on social media of local. These false reports claim that three dead bodies of civilians have been recovered from a certain site and that terrorists have taken some villagers hostage", police said.
"We urge the public to remain calm and not to believe or spread such baseless rumours. To address this matter and prevent any potential unrest, the District Police will issue an official statement. We request everyone to stay informed through verified sources and to refrain from sharing unverified information", police further appealed to the people.
