2 missing Special Police Officers found dead in J&K’s Kishtwar

A security official stands guard at a checkpost after unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire on security personnel deployed at Kulgam, in Jammu on Wednesday. (Source: ANI)

The bodies of two missing Special Police Officers (SPOs) missing in Kishtwar forests have been recovered by the police early on Thursday morning.

Police sources say the weapons of the two SPOs were missing and their bodies had bullet wounds indicating a terror angle.

On Wednesday afternoon, two SPOs – Rachpal Kumar and Bobby Chand – who were part of J-K Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) went missing in Dacchan forest of Kistwar. At around the same time some gunshots were heard in the area while the mobile network was disrupted.

Police aid the two SPOs were returning from Kiyar Dachhan to relieve personnel manning a Temporary Operational Base (TOB) of 17 RR deployed in the Basnan area of Inderwal. Officials said they had been deployed with 17 RR at a post in Derna for area domination over the last few days.

The development comes hours after three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were injured when suspected terrorists opened fire on a security checkpoint in Akhran area near Mir Bazar, in Kulgam district of South Kashmir, on Wednesday — the third terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since July and the second targeting security personnel.

The area falls under Police Station Marwah. During their movement, firing was reported in the Deharna forest area. Kiyar is a “shadow zone” with no mobile connectivity, officials said, adding that there had been no contact with the two since then.

Sources said there was also a disruption in the mobile network in the area at the time. In the evening, an SOG party had proceeded towards the area to look for the missing personnel.

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The attack happened on a day when J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha was in Kulgam to inaugurate a festival.

Sources in Delhi said investigators are examining the possibility of the attackers belonging to a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) module operating in South Kashmir. According to these sources, at least three suspected overground workers (OGWs) of the LeT are being questioned, with security agencies suspecting that at least one of them provided logistical assistance to the attackers. Sources said investigators are examining the possible role of the OGWs in providing reconnaissance, shelter and other assistance.

“The preliminary investigation reveals that at least three terrorists were involved in the attack. Two of them seem to be foreign nationals,” said a J&K Police officer. “We are reviewing the CCTV footage from the area to get a clear picture. There is a marshy patch in the area and the terrorists escaped using the cover of the trees and bushes,” he said.

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Bashaarat Masood is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express. He has been covering Jammu and ... Read More