Additional DGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar, on Saturday, held a high-level meeting with top brass of the Army, para-military forces and intelligence in South Kashmir’s Anantnag on national highway security with special focus on emerging threat of Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIEDs) and other modes of potential terror attack.
Army’s GOC Victor Force Major General Prashant Srivastava, IG CRPF (Kashmir Operations Sector) MS Bhatia, IG BSF Ashok Yadav, Joint Director Intelligence Bureau (IB) , Army’s sector commanders in South Kashmir, DIGs of police, CRPF, SSB, ITBP and CID and SSPs of Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Awantipora districts attended the meeting.
During the meeting, potential threats from terrorists on the national highway were discussed in detail and more counter measures were decided.
SOPs of convoy movement were also discussed and accordingly upgraded. All field officers were given their assessment.
ADGP Kashmir instructed all SSPs to focus on anti-terrorist operations, busting of terror modules by apprehending terrorist associates. They were specially tasked to generate preventive intelligence and share timely amongst all stakeholders. GOC Victor force asked sector commanders to do extensive area domination in night too.
Meanwhile, search for the Pakistani terrorists, who attacked an Army truck on 20 April in Poonch in the Jammu division and killed five soldiers, has been further intensified by the Army, BSF, CRPF and J&K Police.
Northern Army Commander Lt. General Upendra Dwivedi, J&K DGP Dilbag Singh and top brass of BSF, CRPF and intelligence agencies are monitoring the massive search operations in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri. However, the terrorists could not yet be tracked because of inhospitable terrain.
The terrorists involved in the attack escaped from the spot after tossing grenades and heavily firing at the Army truck in which these soldiers deployed for counter terror operations were travelling.
Dilbag Singh told reporters on Friday that during interrogation an Overground Worker (OGW) revealed that ammunition for these terrorists was air-dropped by a Pakistani drone. The DGP said that the terrorist attack could not have happened without local support. The terrorists were given shelter at one place and then transported to the other spot for attacking the Army truck, he added.