Arjun Sharma
Jammu, October 5
No contact was established between the two to three terrorists believed to be hiding in the forest area of Broh in Kalakote of Rajouri district and security forces on the fourth day of the encounter, suggesting the militants might have slipped out of the cordon.
Heavy security was deployed in the area early on Monday when reports of terrorists moving in the jungles was received by the local police. The police, CRPF and Para commandos of the Army were part of the operation. The encounter started on Monday.
While gunfight between terrorists and security forces was reported on Monday and Tuesday, there has been no report on militants since Wednesday.
After the Kokernag encounter in Kashmir recently in which senior Army and police officers were killed, the Army in Kalakote was using drones and helicopters to trace the terrorists in forest areas. “Either the terrorists were able to give a slip to the security forces or they are hiding in the dense forest. The area has natural caves as well,” said a police official.
In September, during an encounter in the Tuli area, a terrorist was able to escape the cordon after his associate was killed in an encounter. The Army and the police had intensified the search that time. In the Kashmir region, terrorists have escaped the cordon multiple times.
It is believed that terrorists in Kalakote were highly trained and possessed AK series rifles and grenades. The security forces have not been able to recover any weapons or other items being carried by the terrorists. However, the search operation has been intensified in the region.
‘Working to destroy last remnants of terrorism’
Srinagar: J&K DGP Dilbag Singh said on Thursday that the police were working with other security forces with great commitment and resolve to destroy the last remnants of terrorism in the UT. He was on a visit to the High Ground area of Anantnag district.