Militants still around, using locals’ phones to reach Pak handlers: Police

“Some of them [handlers], staying across the LoC and in the hinterland of Jammu and Kashmir, have been identified,” he added.

For the past two months, police and security forces have been constantly looking for the killers suspected to be still in Rajouri district. A cash award of Rs 15 lakh has already been announced for providing details leading to their arrest or killing.

The last known location of militants was Narla village in Taryath tehsil of Kalakote sub-division, nearly 35-40 km by road from Dangri.

The militants had reportedly visited two families on January 14-15 and asked for food.

Giving details, sources said the militants first visited a house in Ward 4 of Narla Bambal panchayat around 7-8 pm on January 14 and asked the family for food. After eating the meal, they also got food packed for two days and left, warning the family not to inform police or the security forces.

The next evening, sources said, the militants turned up at a house in Ward 5 and had dinner there. They got food packed for three days and before leaving, they even used the mobile phone of a family member for talking to their handler in Pakistan, sources said. For this, they first downloaded the Telegram app on the device, they added.

Rajouri district’s Narla Bambal panchayat borders Reasi district where locals had last year apprehended two heavily armed militants, including a LeT commander Talib Hussain.

A senior police officer confirmed that the militants have been using offline apps like Telegram for contacting their handlers both in the hinterland of J&K and in Pakistan.

They have been frequently changing their base so as to avoid contact with police and security forces who are continuously looking for them, he added.

The police officer said that they have received inputs about their presence in remote areas of Kalakote-Dharamsal belt.

They have not been using their own communication devices to avoid tracking by the security agencies, he added.

According to police, their search and cordon operations are going on relentlessly as both the militants are still present in hilly areas and can execute another act of terror anytime.

Some locals are helping them by providing information about the movement and actions of police and paramilitary forces, it said, adding 60-70 people have so far been rounded up for questioning.

Meanwhile, sources said that police and security agencies apprehend that though the militants involved in Upper Dangri massacre happen to be Pakistanis, they appear to be guided by local militants camping across the LoC and their contacts in the hinterland.

Over a dozen youths from Rajouri and Poonch districts are operating from Pakistani soil, sources said, adding that possibility of involvement of some of them in the Dangri massacre cannot be ruled out as it is yet to be seen as to how they reached village which is far off from the LoC, selected the target, and managed to escape after carrying out the killings.