‘Asked for water and gave 500 rupee notes’, terrorists wandering from door to door for help in Rui village of Kathua
Search operations have been going on in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua for the past several days. Security forces have intensified the search operation through aerial surveillance and dog squads after an overnight cordon following fresh reports of suspicious movement of three persons who escaped from a recent encounter in the district.
Two militants were killed and four policemen martyred while three others, including a deputy superintendent of police, were injured during an exchange of fire in a remote forest area in the Sanyal belt of the district on Thursday.
Officials said security forces have picked up six persons for questioning, they have also launched a search operation in Samba sector near the international border to search the area, while the entire border area has been put on alert.
Three suspects entered the village
They said three suspected terrorists on Sunday night entered a house in Rui village, several kilometres from the encounter site, and stole food from its kitchen. An official said, “The multi-layered search operation has been intensified after the fresh activity of the terrorists. The search operation was launched in the Ghati-Jhuthana forest area this morning after an overnight cordon.”
He further said that with the help of aerial surveillance and sniffer dogs, the Army, Police, NSG, CRPF and BSF are conducting a multi-layered operation to nab the terrorists in the forest areas of Rui, Juthana, Ghati and Sanyal in Rajbagh area and some parts of Billawar.
Old woman was asked for water
Officials said that the joint operation teams are also focusing on the underground and underground network of terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed in the areas along the International Border (IB). On Sunday night, three suspicious persons dressed in black clothes entered Shankar’s house in Rui village and asked for water from an elderly woman.
The elderly woman told reporters that I was alone at home when they asked me for water. After giving them water, I went to another room in fear. “Before leaving, they forcibly entered the kitchen and took away rotis and vegetables. Before leaving, they also gave me money – two notes of Rs 500, which I refused to take,” the woman said.
Security forces cordoned off the area
After the incident, security forces cordoned off the area overnight. Officials said it is difficult for terrorists to survive in the absence of a network of overground workers (OGWs) who provide them food, shelter and escape routes.
Officials said security forces have picked up six people, including some women of a family, for questioning as they are accused of providing food, shelter and guidance to terrorists active in the area.
These women belong to the family of Mohammad Latif, an OGW who is in jail under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for helping terrorists in Malhar during the attack on an army truck last year. Six soldiers lost their lives in this incident.
Over 2 dozen people in custody
One of the slain terrorists is believed to have stayed at the house of Abu Tala Latif. Security forces have questioned over two dozen people about terror activities in the area.
The police have been keeping an eye on a group of terrorists after intercepting them inside an enclosure at a nursery in Sanyal village near the international border with Pakistan on March 23.
Three jawans killed in Kathua encounter
The bodies of three other policemen – Balwinder Singh Chib, Jaswant Singh and Tariq Ahmad – were recovered on Friday evening. Bodies of two Pakistani terrorists believed to be linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed were also recovered.
The body of Head Constable Jagbir Singh was recovered from the Ghati-Jhuthana forest on Saturday. The People’s Anti-Fascist Front, a proxy organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammed, has claimed involvement in the encounter.
