A Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and three policemen were injured on Thursday during a fresh exchange of fire between terrorists and security forces in the Kathua district of Jammu, where a massive anti-terrorist operation has been underway for the past five days, officials said.

Dheeraj Katoch, who is posted as DSP (Border) in the Special Operations Group (SOG), and the cops were injured during the gunfight at Ghati Juthana in Kathua. They were immediately shifted to the hospital, where their condition was stable.

Advertisement

Reports said that an exchange of fire took place after some terrorists were spotted in the area. The area has been cordoned by security forces.

The gunfight erupted when the security forces spotted the terrorists in the Ghati Juthana area of Rajbagh. Reinforcements of the Army, J&K Police, and CRPF have been rushed and further details are awaited.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jammu and Inspector General (IG) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) visited the encounter site to assess the ongoing anti-terrorist operation.

Drones and sniffer dogs have been deployed to track down the terrorists in the forest area.

The terrorists are believed to be of the same group that escaped after an encounter in the Hiranagar sector of the district last Sunday evening.

The border district of Kathua has lately become a terrorist hotspot, emerging as a major infiltrating route for Pakistan-based terrorists. From here, the terrorists move to higher reaches of Udhampur, Doda, and Kishtwar districts and further move to Kashmir.

The security forces have been combing the Hiranagar area for the past five days, and the terrorists are believed to have slipped towards the Kathua town. Inputs then suggested that there are at least two groups of 5 to 6 terrorists who managed to infiltrate on 22 March.

A village woman collecting firewood on 23 March reported seeing around five heavily armed terrorists who had sought refuge in the expansive nursery area in Saniyal village, approximately five kilometres from the International Border with Pakistan.

During the search operation on Tuesday, security forces recovered grenades, M-4 ammunition, and eatables. The tracksuits found among the cache in the Saniyal forests were identical to those worn by the four Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists killed in the Assar forests and Doda in June and August last year.