Monthly Archives: August 2018

Army video shows pounding of hideout in Kokernag

Samaan Lateef

Srinagar, September 15

Kashmir Police have urged the retired police and army officers to avoid spreading the “ambush hypothesis” on Kokernag encounter in which three officers were killed and two soldiers injured.

“The retired police and Army officers should avoid “ambush hypothesis”. It is a specific input based operation. Operation is in progress and all 2-3 trapped terrorists will be neutralized,” said additional director general of police Vijay Kumar.

Army has unofficially released a video, depicting their use of shells to target a hideout concealed within a forested area.

On Wednesday, a joint team of police and army had gone to bust the hideout, prompted by intelligence suggesting the presence of militants within it, at Hallpora village in Gadool area of Kokernag in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. 

In the video, an Army soldier can be heard providing instructions for the precise targeting of the hideout with mortar shells. He instructs the UAV operators to assess the angle of the surrounding trees and to aim slightly below the target. He also mentions that there is one corner that has not yet been hit. As a mortar round makes contact with the hideout, the soldier expresses satisfaction, labeling it a “perfect shot” and commending the team’s performance by confirming the destruction of the hideout.

Shortly after the mortar strike, the soldier alerts his colleagues to an individual attempting to flee from the hideout. In response, the soldiers open fire, showering the hideout with bullets.

Defence Acquisition Council also approves procurement of Next Generation Survey Vessels for Indian Navy

Tribune News Service

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, September 15

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the apex decision-making body of the Ministry of Defence, on Friday okayed the acquisition of 12 more Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets with associated equipment from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The HAL produces the Russian-origin twin-engines Sukhoi. In all, 272 Sukhois have been inducted into the Indian Air Force in batches since 1998. The 12 additional planes are to tide over the shortfall caused by crashes and to address the failing number of fighter jet squadrons.

The DAC, in all accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN)—it’s the first step of the tendering process—for nine capital acquisition proposals of approximately Rs 45,000 crore. 

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

All these procurements will be made from Indian vendors.

To enhance protection, mobility, attack capability and increased survivability of mechanised forces, the DAC accorded the AoN for procurement of Light Armoured Multipurpose Vehicles (LAMV) and Integrated Surveillance and Targeting System (ISAT-S). The DAC cleared AoN for procurement of High Mobility Vehicle (HMV) Gun Towing Vehicles for swift mobilisation and deployment of artillery guns and radars.

The DAC also approved procurement of Next Generation Survey Vessels for the Indian Navy which will greatly enhance its capabilities in performing Hydrographic Operations.

The DAC also accorded AoN for proposals of the Indian Air Force which included avionic upgradation of Dornier aircraft to improve the accuracy and reliability for operations. The procurement of Dhruvastra short range air-to-surface missile as a potent indigenous precision guided weapon for indigenously built ALH Mk-IV helicopters has been cleared by the DAC, the MoD said.

As the assault was resumed on Saturday morning, the security forces fire several mortar shells towards the forest

PTI

Srinagar, September 16

The operation to flush out militants from the dense forest area in Anantnag district entered its fourth day as drones and helicopters were pressed into service to track and neutralise the ultras who killed three security forces officers, officials said on Saturday.

Security forces deployed drones and helicopters to hold surveillance on the hilly terrain and figure out the locations of the militants in the forests at Gadole in Kokernag area of the south Kashmir district, officials said.

As the assault was resumed on Saturday morning – the fourth day of the gunfight – the security forces fired several mortar shells towards the forest, they said.

Drone footage showed a militant running for cover after a cave-like hideout was hit by shells fired by security forces on Friday.

Additional Director General of Police (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar on Friday night said the operation was launched on the basis of specific input and claimed “two to three trapped terrorists will be neutralised”. 

The operation was launched in the Hathlanga forward area in Uri sector of the north Kashmir district

PTI

Srinagar, September 16

Three militants were killed as security forces foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, officials said.

The operation was launched in the Hathlanga forward area in Uri sector of the north Kashmir district, the police officials said.

“In a Joint Operation launched by #IndianArmy, @JmuKmrPolice and Intelligence agencies, an infiltration bid was foiled today in the morning hours along LoC in Uri Sector, Baramulla,” Army’s Chinar Corps wrote in a post on X.

Three terrorists tried to infiltrate into the Indian side and were engaged by alert troops, it said.

While the bodies of two terrorists have been retrieved, firing from a Pakistani post in the vicinity is interfering with the retrieval of the third terrorist’s body, it added.

The operation is in progress, the Army said.

The identities and group affiliation of the slain terrorists are yet to be ascertained, police said.

The infiltration bid and the subsequent encounter come at a time when an operation is under way in Anantnag district to neutralise terrorists who have taken positions in the forest area in a hilly terrain. The gunfight entered its fourth day on Saturday.

Pall of gloom descends on native places of martyred Army officers

IANS

Chandigarh, September 14

A pall of gloom descended on the native places of Sena Medal awardee Col Manpreet Singh and Major Aashish Dhonchak of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, who made the supreme sacrifice while protecting the nation from the terrorists in Anantnag on Wednesday.

Col Manpreet Singh belonged to Mohali in Punjab and Major Dhonchak to Panipat in Haryana.

“We last spoke to him (Col Manpreet Singh) at 6.45am and later got a call at around 3pm that he had been injured. He was a great man. Last year, he was awarded the Sena Medal. I salute him,” Colonel Manpreet Singh’s brother told the media.

His family, comprising mother, wife Jagmeet Grewal and two children — a daughter aged six and a son aged two — resides near New Chandigarh in Mohali district.

Planning to visit the family on his birthday next month, Major Dhonchak joined the India Army in 2013 and was the only brother of three sisters.

He’s survived by wife Jyoti and three-year-old daughter Vamika.

As the news of his death spread, villagers and neighbours rushed to his house in Sector 7.

Lal Chand, his father, along with the family, had shifted to a rented accommodation after he retired from National Fertilisers Limited.

Major Dhonchak’s grandfather told the media that he was an intelligent man and scarified his life for the country.

“Everyone in the village will wait for the arrival of his mortal remains,” he said with teary eyes.

Col Manpreet Singh’s wife Jagmeet is an economics teacher with the Haryana government and is posted in Panchkula district.

Col Manpreet Singh was leading his troops from the front when he received critical gunshot wounds.

“Punjab Police salutes our martyr Col. Manpreet Singh & Maj. Ashish Dhonchak of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, and DSP Humayun Bhat of J&K Police who lost their lives during a fierce gunfight with terrorists in #Anantnag, #JammuKashmir,” Punjab Police said in a post on ‘X’.

Humayun, a 2018 batch officer of the JKPS, was married last year

IANS

 Srinagar, September 14

The courage, fortitude and composure of this brave police officer as he laid a wreath on the body of his martyred officer son, will be written with golden letters in the history of Indian police.

Fragile-bodied retired IGP Ghulam Hassan Bhat stood by the body of his son, DSP Humayun Bhat, in the district police lines in Srinagar without a tear in his eyes.

Ghulam Hassan Bhat escorted by Javaid Mujtaba Gilani, ADGP, laid a wreath at his martyred son’s coffin wrapped in the Tricolour.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Secretary Arun Mehta, DGP Dilbag Singh and all other senior officers of J&K Police stood solemnly behind the father waiting for their turn to pay last respects to the slain officer.

Humayun, a 2018 batch officer of the JKPS, was married last year. His wife gave birth to a baby just 26 days ago.

The tragedy could not have been greater for any family in any part of the country.

But, Ghulam Hassan Bhat hid grief and tears. He was grief-stricken but his spirit was high.

He lived up to what he swore in the oath he and his son took when baptised into the police service.

Humuyan was the sub-divisional police officer in Kokarnag area of Anantnag district.

He was part of the team of security officers who went to Gadole mountain area after receiving inputs about the presence of terrorists there.

In the initial contact with the terrorists, Colonel Manpreet Singh, CO of 19 Rashtriya Rifles; Major Aashish Dhonchak; and DSP Humayun Bhat came under heavy firing from the terrorists.

The three officers were leading the operation from the front. Rescue was immediately organised.

Unfortunately, the three officers had lost a lot of blood and could not be revived by the doctors.

Had volunteered to stay with 19 RR

PTI

New Delhi, September 14

“No Sir” was the prompt reply of Colonel Manpreet Singh when he was offered a peace posting upon his promotion in 2021. Instead, he volunteered to stay and command the 19 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), a battalion credited with major kills of terrorists including Hizbul Mujahideen poster boy Burhan Wani.

Col Singh, who is survived by his wife, a six-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter, was a combat veteran and was awarded Sena Medal during his tenure as second-in-command of the 19 Rashtriya Rifles, a battalion tasked with ensuring security in South Anantnag, Kokernag and Verinag Achabal including its higher reaches, which have been highly infested with terrorists especially foreign mercenaries in the past.

Col Singh, who was in his early 40s, along with Major Ashish Dhonchak, DSP Himayun Bhat and a soldier, was killed in an encounter with terrorists on Wednesday in the higher reaches of Kokernag. One soldier is still missing.

After his promotion in 2021 as a Colonel, Singh was given a choice to opt for peace area posting. “No Sir, I would like to be posted in my 19 RR (Rashtriya Rifles) and be with my own men,” was his prompt response, politely rejecting the offer that had been made to him.

Major Dhonchak, 34, is remembered as an enthusiastic officer who used to go into the nitty gritty of every operation. During a search operation in Athlan Gadole of Kokernag on August 10, terrorists hurled a grenade, injuring three persons but Major Dhonchak had an escape.

Our Correspondent

Srinagar, September 14

On Thursday night, the town of Wagoora in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, once a militancy hub, found itself bathed in the poignant sea of candlelight. In a gesture of unwavering solidarity, the civil society of Wagoora held a candlelight march to mourn and honour the Kokernag gunfight martyrs.

People from all walks of life, united by grief and a sense of duty, joined hands for this sombre procession. They held aloft posters bearing the images of the brave officers who had laid down their lives fighting militants the previous day.

Scores of people holding candles and posters of the martyrs marched through the main market of Wagoora town. The candlelight march commenced at 7 pm from the Main Chowk of the town. The march was led by Tehsildar, Wagoora, Zeeshan Khan. “My last tributes to my friend DSP Himayun and senior Army officers (Col Manpreet Singh and Major Ashish Dhonak) who laid down their lives in Kokernag. Rest in peace officers,” Khan wrote on X.

Wagoora, once a stronghold of militancy, has transformed over the years as its people turned towards mainstream politics, seeking peace and progress. Similar, candlelight marches echoed through the Valley, from Shopian in the south to other corners of Kashmir.

Need to plug gaps in the Army’s SOPs

THE death of Col Manpreet Singh, Maj Ashish Dhonchak and DSP Humayun Bhat in a gunfight with terrorists in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir is a great loss to the nation. Both Col Manpreet and Maj Dhonchak were recipients of the Sena Medal; the former was the commanding officer of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, the Army’s counter-terrorist unit. It was ostensibly an intelligence-based operation that went horribly wrong. The intel input claimed that the terrorists had a hideout in a forest, but the joint team of the security forces was ambushed by the assailants when it approached the spot. Col Manpreet and the others literally walked into a death trap. Even as the reliability of the input has come under a cloud, it is evident that there were lapses in the implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for counter-terror operations.

It was in 2020 that the Army had revised its SOPs for such operations in J&K, shifting the focus on ensuring surrender during encounters. While this confidence-building measure has been helpful in saving the lives of several youths, it has made the task tougher for Army personnel, who are expected to play the waiting game for a longer period. In any case, a thorough verification of intelligence inputs is a must to spot fatal red herrings and false trails. Round-the-clock surveillance of informers is needed to weed out those who are in league with terrorists.

The Anantnag attack comes days after the Central Government told the Supreme Court that it was ready to conduct elections in J&K. An occasional setback should not deter the Centre from going ahead with the much-delayed electoral process. At the same time, there is a need to remove deficiencies in the intel system and firm up the SOPs so that soldiers and cops don’t become sitting ducks for Pakistan-trained terrorists.