Encounter breaks out in Kishtwar with terrorists in forests, search ops on

A JCO of the Army’s Special Forces, Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar, was killed and three soldiers injured in a fierce gun battle with terrorists on November 10 last year in the Keshwan forests.

Written by Arun Sharma

Jammu | Updated: September 22, 2025 02:22 AM IST

2 min read

Lance Dafadar Baldev Chand was critically injured during the encounter and succumbed to his injuries (X/ White Knight Corps)

Security forces on Sunday afternoon established contact with a group of terrorists, resulting in a fierce exchange of fire in the dense forests of Keshwan in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district.

“Alert troops of the White Knight Corps, at around 1 pm today, while carrying out an intelligence-based operation in the general area of Kishtwar, have established contact with terrorists. Fire exchanged with terrorists. Operation is in progress,” said the Army’s Nagrota-based White Knight Corps on its X handle.

Sources said a search operation was launched by the Rashtriya Rifles in Doda district after receiving specific information about the sighting of two to three terrorists in the Keshwar forests that fall between Doda and Kishtwar districts. During the firefight, terrorists managed to escape deep inside the forests towards the Kishtwar side, sources said, adding that security forces are chasing them.

A JCO of the Army’s Special Forces, Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar, was killed and three soldiers injured in a fierce gun battle with terrorists on November 10 last year in the Keshwan forests. The same terrorists had, two days earlier, killed two village defence guards.

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