Village defence guard killed in shootout with militants in J&K’s Udhampur: Police

VDG member Mohd Sharief, a resident of Khaned, was critically injured in the firing and later succumbed to injuries, police said.

“After receipt of inputs regarding movement of suspicious individuals late Saturday evening, J&K Police activated the security grid in Basantgarh police station limits. Today morning, a party of police picket Sang carrying along with them VDG members proceeded towards Chochru Gala heights where a face-off ensued with a group of hiding terrorists” a police spokesperson said.

The Special Operations Group of police along with Army and CRPF parties were rushed to the area to strengthen the cordon and neutralise the terrorists, the spokesperson added.

According to official sources, there was information about movement of two separate groups of terrorists, who infiltrated recently, from Kathua to Basantgarh.

One of the groups with five members was confronted, while there was no trace of the other group, which has four members and whose movement was last reported in the Machedi top area bordering Kathua, they said.

The sources said the terrorists are believed to have infiltrated from Kathua district and are heading to Kashmir via Chenab valley, taking advantage of the dense forest.

The Army airdropped Special Forces in the forest area and a massive search operation is underway to track and neutralise the terrorists, the sources said.

They said there was no fresh contact with the terrorists.

This has been the second incident of militant attack in the otherwise peaceful Jammu division since April 22 when militants had shot dead a villager, Mohammad Raziq, of Kunda Top in Rajouri district’s Shahdra Sharief area.

While Shahdra Sharief is part of Anantnag parliamentary constituency which is going to polls on May 7, Basantgarh falls in Udhampur parliamentary constituency where polling was held in the first phase on April 19.