Search operations continue for the second in the Kishtwar district following a brief encounter between militants and security forces, officials said.
The forces intensified the searches a day after an Army officer died in the gun battle in the upper reaches of the Keshwan forest of the Kishtwar district on Sunday.
The combing operation has been going on in the forest area for over four days, looking for the militants who kidnapped and brutally murdered the two village defence guards on Thursday.
The encounter on Sunday was a result of relentless searches carried out by the joint team of police, army, and CRPF. The encounter ensued when the militants were intercepted and challenged by the searching troops.
During the exchange of fire that lasted for more than four hours, JCO Rakesh Kumar of the Para Special Forces along with three others sustained injuries.
Later on, the injured officer succumbed to injuries while the three others were declared to be in stable condition.
Meanwhile, officials on Monday said that no fresh contact had been established with the militants since Sunday’s encounter.
Apparently, as per the army’s assessment, there are three to four militants still holed up in the area, and a massive search operation is underway to neutralise them.
However, the thick foliage and challenging ground conditions pose a significant challenge to the security forces engaged in search operations to track down the fleeing militants.
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