With maize crop, infiltration rises

The ailing militant, during interrogation, revealed that nearly 1,000 militants from various outfits were, at present, in Muzaffarabad camp, waiting to enter the state. He, too, had crossed over in a group of nearly 20 militants belonging to the 313 brigade of HUJI. Sources said Fiaz was taken to the LoC to show from where they had sneaked into Indian territory, but the arrested militant failed to identify the spot on reaching the border.

‘‘Almost every day, we receive reports of militant groups sneaking into the state from one area or the other,’’ a senior police officer said. Since July last, 214 militants have been killed either by police or security forces. The militants have killed 100 civilians and 50 security personnel in the same period.

Al Badr commander Zuber Gul, who had reportedly crossed over to PoK a year ago after the killing of four Muslim girls over the burqa issue, has also returned to Rajouri. Zuber’s deputy Shahid Badri was killed in an encounter at Lah four days ago. This morning, security forces cordoned off Dudasan Bala area following reports that a group of militants have crossed over to this side of the LoC. The cordon was on till last reports came in.

The scene is the same in Poonch district. Reports say militants have sneaked in through Balnoi, Sagra, Targaloon and Balakote during the past few days. Interestingly, the areas were under heavy Pakistani shelling then. Sources attributed the rise in infiltration to full-grown maize in the fields. They said the crop was providing natural cover for militants.