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Anantnag Encounter Ends After 7 Days, LeT Commander Among 2 Terrorists Killed

An LeT commander among two terrorists has been gunned as the fierce military operations spanning a week’s time came to an end on Tuesday.

Indian Army personnel as they strategise their plan to flush out terrorists in Jammu Kashmir’s Anantnag ( Image Source : Nayanima Basu )

After a fierce gunfight that continued for a week, an LeT commander was gunned down among the two terrorists neutralised in one of Jammu and Kashmir’s longest anti-militancy operations that has claimed the lives of three officers and a soldier. While the body of LeT commander Uzhair Khan has been recovered, the body of the other is yet to be found and a search is on for the same. Top police officer Vijay Kumar has also advised the public to not go into the affected area.

“The search operation will continue as many areas are still left…We would appeal to the public to not go there…We had the information about 2-3 terrorists. It’s possible that we find the third body somewhere that’s why we will complete the search operation. We found the body of the LeT Commander and retrieved it, we could also spot another body…We’re looking for the third body,” ADGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar on anti-terror operation at Anantnag.

Colonel Manpreet Singh, commanding officer, of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Ashish Dhonchak and Deputy Superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir Police Humayun Bhat lost their lives last Wednesday.

Body Of Missing Soldier Found After 6 Days
Two bodies were found in the dense forest region of the Gadole region on Monday, one of which was of a soldier who went missing last Wednesday during an encounter with militants. The identity of the other is yet to be ascertained, said an official while talking to the news agency PTI. Police officials have received information that two to three terrorists are trapped in the forest area.

The security forces are using drones and helicopters for surveillance of the dense forest area with several cave-like hideouts where the terrorists are believed. During the search, drone footage showed a charred body near one of the terrorist hideouts that was destroyed during the operation. Several cave-like hideouts are being examined where terrorists are believed to have been holed up since Wednesday.

The search was extended to the neighbouring area of Posh Kreeri on Sunday as a precautionary measure in order to ensure that the terrorists don’t slip into the civilian areas, reported PTI.

Source: https://news.abplive.com/news/india/anantnag-encounter-anti-terrorism-operations-in-jammu-and-kashmir-enters-into-7th-day-1630573

J&K: 48 Hrs Later, Encounter Still On; 2 Army Officers, 1 Cop Dead In Anantnag Operation

Youth Congress workers pay tribute to Army Colonel Manpreet Singh, Major Ashish Dhonchak and DSP of J&K Police Humayun Bhat who were killed in an encounter with terrorists in Anantnag district, in Jammu (Image: PTI)

At least two more Army officers have been injured in the encounter which is underway in Kokernag in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district since early hours on Wednesday. Two army officers and a Deputy Superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir died in a fierce gunfight between security forces and terrorists on Wednesday.

Their deaths came less than 24 hours after another Indian Army jawan and an Army dog were gunned down in Rajouri.

The army and the police launched a joint search operation to hunt down the terrorists late at night on Tuesday.

As per media reports, the General-Officer-Commanding (GOC) of the Chinar Corps, Lt General Rajiv Ghai, and the GOC of the Victor Force, Maj General Balbir Singh is currently monitoring the operations.

CNN-News18 earlier reported that terrorists are now equipped with YSMS technology, which was used earlier in deadly attacks of 2016 and 2019.

So far, four security forces personnel — Colonel Manpreet Singh, Commanding Officer of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Ashish Dhonack, and Deputy Superintendent Humayun Bhat, and rifleman Ravi Kumar- have been killed in the gunfight with terrorists. They are believed to be have been killed by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists.

Source: https://www.news18.com/india/jammu-and-kashmir-still-on-3-army-personles-1-cop-dead-terrorist-anantnag-latest-updates-8578145.html

CRPF Records 10 Suicides in 23 Days Across Elite Units; Supervising Officer May Face the Heat Now

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the world’s largest central armed force, has recorded 10 suicides by jawans in the last 23 days across states, prompting a decision at the top levels that the supervising officer where such deaths are reported shall face repercussions in their annual performance appraisal report.

Suicides among jawans and staff of the CRPF has been an alarming issue for some years now – the force recorded 194 deaths by suicides between 2018 and 2022. The latest 10 deaths by suicide have been reported from different arms of the CRPF – the specialised wing, anti-Naxal unit CoBRA and J&K units – from places like Pulwama and Srinagar in J&K, Assam, Odisha and Jharkhand, among others. The suicides also include the death of an inspector-level official from the elite CoBRA force.

The issue has been discussed at all levels and, at the recent Chintan Shivar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, too, expressed concerns. Among the decisions taken to arrest the rising suicide rate among jawans, supervising officers will share more onus to prevent such deaths.

A senior official of the force, on condition of anonymity, told News18 that any such incident will be mentioned in the annual performance appraisal report of the supervising officer, which may dent their shot at promotions.

ALARMING NUMBERS
As per the official data, the four-year period from 2018 to 2021 registered a worrying rise in suicides among CRPF jawans. In 2018, 36 jawans died by suicide, followed by 40 such deaths in 2019. As many as 54 deaths by suicide were recorded in the force in 2020. In 2021, 57 jawans died by suicide. The year 2022 registered a dip in suicides by jawans, but the count still stood at 43.

This year, 10 jawans died by suicide between August 12 and September 4. As per the data, 30% of the 34 deaths by suicide in the CRPF so far this year have been reported in the last 10 days.

Source: https://www.news18.com/india/crpf-records-10-suicides-in-23-days-across-elite-units-supervising-officer-may-face-the-heat-now-8564213.html

No Surgical Strike, But Terrorist Infiltration Foiled from Balakote Sector, Says India

The ministry asserted it was not a surgical strike, as claimed (File PTI Photo)

Hours after a report said India made another surgical strike on Pakistan, the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday refuted the claims and said that Indian Army foiled an infiltration bid by Pakistan on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Balakote Sector. However, the ministry asserted it was not a surgical strike, as claimed.

Ministry, in an official statement, said that on Monday morning, two terrorists were detected by alert troops to be making attempts to cross the LoC onto the Indian side, “making use of inclement weather, dense fog, thick foliage, and undulating ground in Hamirpur area of Balakote Sector.”

Earlier today, a newspaper report claimed that Indian Army has once again carried out a surgical strike in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Quoting sources, the report claimed that Army destroyed four launching pads of Pakistani terrorists by entering 2.5 kilometers across the LoC on Saturday night.

It claimed that seven to eight terrorists were killed in India’s surgical strike and all the soldiers of the Indian Army returned safely after the mission.

WHAT MINISTRY SAID?

“Intelligence Inputs received from Multiple Intelligence agencies and Jammu and Kashmir Police revealed the presence of terrorists waiting to cross the LC from opposite own Balakote Sector. Based on these inputs own surveillance grid was placed on heightened alert and multiple ambushes were sited at suitable location,” the ministry’s statement read.

As the terrorists approached India’s ambush sites, they were challenged and then engaged with effective fire, the ministry said, adding that this forced the terrorists to flee from the ambush site by making use of weather and ground conditions.

“However effective fire resulted in one terrorist falling down on the ground near the LC. Additional troops were then moved into the area and search operations commenced in the afternoon after improvement of weather conditions and visibility,” it said.

During searches in the area, Indian Army recovered an AK 47 rifle with two magazines, 30 rounds, two grenades, and Pak-origin medicines.

Source: https://www.news18.com/india/surgical-strike-balakote-sector-indian-army-statement-terrorist-infiltration-bid-foiled-pakistan-8545251.html