Massive search operation to track terrorists continues for third day in J-K’s Kathua.

A massive search operation to track down a group of infiltrating terrorists continued for the third day in a forested area in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said.

The operation, led by Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, was launched on March 23 evening in the Hiranagar sector following an encounter between security forces and terrorists hiding in a nursery.

As the security forces moved deep inside the cordoned off area this morning, a barrage of gunfire was heard. However, officials said it was speculative firing resorted by the troops after noticing some suspicious movement.

An army helicopter was seen hovering over the area as the joint troops of the army, including commandos equipped with heavy weapons, sniffer dogs, drones and unmanned aerial vehicles continued the search for the terrorists believed to be trapped in the area, the officials said.

The operation was launched by a Special Operations Group of police after they got intelligence about the presence of terrorists inside a 'dhok' — a local term for an enclosure — in a nursery in Sanyal village, approximately five km from the International Border with Pakistan, officials said.

The hiding terrorists launched a barrage of fire at the police party, leading to an intense gunfight that lasted for more than half an hour, they said

Reinforcements were swiftly dispatched, as a manhunt was launched to apprehend the terrorists, believed to have infiltrated on Saturday via either the ravine route or through a newly created tunnel.

There has been no report of any casualty in the initial firing and the area was kept under a tight security cordon throughout the night before the security forces moved in at the crack of dawn, officials said.

Though there has been no fresh contact with the terrorists, the search parties on Monday found four loaded magazines of M4 carbine, two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, sleeping bags, tracksuits, several packets of eatables, and separate polythene bags, the contents of which will be known only when they are opened by the bomb disposal squad, they said.

The police chief, who along with Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone, Bhim Sen Tuti is camping in Kathua, was seen leading from the front deep inside the forested area, holding an AK assault rifle and directing the operation from the ground.

One of the inputs suggested that two groups of at least five terrorists each infiltrated on March 22. The local villagers, meanwhile, organized a community kitchen for the security personnel and the mediapersons at the outer cordon.

According to officials, some village women collecting firewood reported seeing around five terrorists who had sought refuge in the expansive nursery area.

A seven-year-old girl sustained minor injuries when a stray bullet passed close to her arm. She was shifted to a local hospital.

A 48-year-old villager, Anita Devi, said heavily armed terrorists caught hold of her husband when they were at the nursery to collect firewood.

"The terrorists held my husband at gunpoint and asked me to come near. But my husband signaled me to run and I ran. One of the terrorists tried to stop me but I started shouting, which attracted the attention of two more people who were cutting grass," Anita Devi told PTI.

She said the incident occurred around 4.30 pm on March 23 and they all returned home and informed police. They were wearing beards and commando dresses, Anita Devi said.

(PTI)