Jammu, Mar 29: A senior Army officer visited Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district to review the security situation, amid an ongoing operation against infiltrating terrorists in nearby Kathua district, officials said.
General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Jammu-based White Knight Corps, Lieutenant General Navin Sachdeva, visited the district’s Basantgarh area, which falls on the route used by terrorists earlier to move from Kathua to Chenab valley after infiltrating the border, officials said.
Lieutenant General Sachdeva was accompanied by Major General APS Bal, the GOC of Counter Insurgency Force-Delta (CIF-D), they said.
“GOC White Knight Corps and GOC CIF-D visited Basantgarh to assess the ongoing security situation in the region. The GOC appreciated the troops for their unwavering commitment and dedication in the ongoing counter-terrorism operations,” White Knight Corps posted on microblogging site X.
The visit comes at a time when security forces are engaged in a massive search operation in Kathua district, where four policemen and two Pakistani terrorists were killed in a fierce gunfight on Thursday.
Seven other policemen, including a deputy superintendent of police, were injured in the encounter that was led by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and assisted by the Army and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), officials said.
Earlier on Friday, Director General of Police (DGP) Nalin Prabhat said that J&K Police won’t sleep till it stops the activities of Pakistan and its sponsored terrorists.
Talking to reporters here, DGP Prabhat said, “Till now, four J&K policemen have lost their lives in the ongoing encounter and two terrorists have been killed. The operation will continue till all the terrorists are eliminated.”
The DGP, while giving the details of the encounter which broke out between the terrorists and the security forces in Kathua district earlier this week, said, “ A couple informed of a sighting of Pakistanis in Sanyal on 23rd March evening, and immediately, a group of officers reached the spot. They had an encounter with the Pakistanis, and the latter escaped, leaving behind 4 magazines, 3 IEDs, 2 grenades.”
He said, “The entire area was put to a halt by different forces – BSF, Army, CRPF till this incident went on. This operation went on for 4 days. We got information about their whereabouts, and yesterday, our forces had an encounter with the Pakistanis, and 2 of them were killed on the spot.”
“Due to a clear line of sight, 4 of our brave officers were martyred. The intention and mission of J&K police are strong. We will not sleep till we stop such activities of our neighbor. The operation is still going on… As we talk, officers and teams are working, and we hope that everything will clear out by tomorrow,” DGP Prabhat.
Asked how many more terrorists have been killed in the encounter, he said, “Today our mission was to retrieve the bodies of our four martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. We have retrieved their bodies. Operation is on, things will become clear soon.”
The DGP said, “Names of J&K Police martyrs have always been written in golden words in the history as it’s the only police force in the country which has accomplished daunting tasks with exceptional bravery.”