180 companies of CAPF deployed for Amarnath Yatra security across Jammu: IGP
Shadow Correspondent
Srinagar, june 26:
A terrorist of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit was killed in an encounter with security forces on Thursday, while three of his associates remained trapped in a forested area in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district, officials said.
The group of four terrorists was being tracked for a year. They were confronted by a joint search party of the army and police in the remote Bihali area of Basantgarh in the morning, they said.
According to officials, reinforcements have been rushed in and a massive search operation is going on despite bad weather.
“In the ongoing operation by the Indian Army and the J&K Police, one terrorist has been neutralised till now. Operation continues,” a defence spokesperson said.
Operation Bihali comes a week ahead of the start of the annual Amarnath Yatra in the Kashmir Himalayas.
Inspector General of Police, Jammu range, Bhim Sen Tuti said contact was established with the terrorists at around 8.30 am.
“They are believed to be four in number and we have been tracking (this group) for the last one year,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Jammu.
He said a search operation was going on despite foggy conditions, and the real picture would emerge once the weather improves.
Officials added that the trapped terrorists are members of the Pakistan-based JeM and were found hiding near Karoor nullah by the joint search party led by the army’s para commandos.
Earlier in the day, Jammu-based White Knight Corps of the Army said on X, ‘Based on specific intelligence, a joint operation was launched by Indian Army and J&K Police in the Bihali area of Basantgarh. Contact has been established with terrorists. The operation is currently in progress.’
Besides, security forces conducted a search operation in the Purmandal area of Samba district late Wednesday following reports of suspicious activity.
However, the operation concluded peacefully after nothing was found on the ground, officials said.
Meanwhile, sA total of 180 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), which is 30 more than previous years, have been deployed for the security of annual Amarnath Yatra in Jammu division this year, a senior police officer said on Thursday.
Inspector General of Police, Jammu zone, Bhim Sen Tuti assured a safe pilgrimage to every ‘yatri’ but appealed them to undertake the journey in official convoys if they plan to travel from Jammu rather than travelling independently.
The 38-day-long yatra to 3,880-meter-high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas is scheduled to start from the twin routes — the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route in the Anantnag district and the 14-km shorter but steeper Baltal route in the Ganderbal district — on July 3.
The first batch of pilgrims will leave for Kashmir from Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar base camp a day before the start of the annual yatra.
“Police are alert to ensure the security of every (Amarnath) pilgrim. Five districts (Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur and Ramban) form a circuit through which the yatra passes (in Jammu region). The CAPF personnel have reached here and their total deployment is 180 companies which is 30 more than the last year,” the IGP said.
Talking to reporters after flagging off an anti-drug awareness tableau from district police lines on the occasion of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking here, he said they have increased the deployment from Lakhanpur in Kathua – the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir border Punjab to Jammu.
“We have also introduced Road Opening Patrols and also covered the area which used to have skeleton deployment in the past,” Tuti said.
The Jammu police chief said Jammu and Kashmir is a sensitive region and the deployment has been made keeping the requirement in mind.
“My appeal to Amarnath pilgrims intending to plan their yatra from Jammu to join the official convoy rather than travelling independently to the valley,” the IGP said.
Two convoys traditionally leave Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu for Pahalgam and Baltal under tight security arrangements on a daily basis during the yatra period.
On the efforts to curb drug menace in the region, he said Jammu and Kashmir is a border state and “our fight is not only against terrorism but also narcotic business which is used to fund terror activities.”
