3 min readJammuJun 16, 2024 07:12 AM IST
First published on: Jun 16, 2024 at 02:28 AM IST
Multiple teams of the Jammu and Kashmir police fanned out in Akhnoor on Friday evening, looking for a person whose photograph had gone viral on social media alongside a message that he was the militant behind the attack on a bus full of pilgrims in Reasi, and that he had been seen near Old Hospital Road.
Hours later, when the police finally traced the person, boarding a matador, he turned out to be an Army porter working in Leh who was on his way home.
This prompted the police to ask the general public to “check with their concerned police station before forwarding anything on social media”.
From the Line of Control in Rajouri to the mountainous Doda to the plains of Jammu, the J&K police and security forces have been on their toes over the past few days — in light of an uptick in terror attacks, and a simultaneous increase in rumours of militant sightings.
On Friday, another video went viral of some people carrying guns in a vehicle. Again, the police had to clarify that the vehicle was ferrying CAPF personnel.They also advised people “to keep watch around, but don’t pay heed to rumours and fear-mongering”.
On the outskirts of Doda, in Jammu’s Parmaaz area, the police and security forces conducted a massive combing operation on Friday after locals claimed to have sighted two militants. The searches, though, did not yield anything. It was a similar story in Kalal and Lamberi areas of Rajouri, where police conducted searches for two days following reports of militants sightings, but in vain.
According to sources in the security establishment, ever since the terror attack in Reasi that left nine dead, people have been “extra observant”, reporting any unusual activity. This is understandable, officials said, since the otherwise peaceful Jammu province has seen three back to back terror attacks of late, including two where security personnel were injured.
According to sources in the police and security agencies, the militants are on the run, and the attacks in Reasi, Kathua and Doda are meant to “divert attention” from Rajouri and Poonch districts, where they have been more active.The PM has already held a high-level meeting to review the situation in J&K, and has asked security forces and the police to deploy a full spectrum of the counter insurgency apparatus. The Home Minister is scheduled to chair a high-level meeting on Sunday.
On the PM’s instructions, security forces have stepped up area domination and surveillance across J&K.
Sources said they also have an eye on the Amarnath yatra, which begins on June 29.
In Reasi, police have detained more than 50 people and extended their searches to far off areas of Arnas and Mahore – a hotbed of militancy in the mid-90s.
Army personnel conduct a search operation in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. (Image source: PTI) 
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