Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 12: The bullet-riddled bodies of two Special Police Officers (SPOs) were recovered from Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district early Thursday, a day after they went missing from the remote Dachhan area, officials said The service weapons of the slain personnel were not found, raising suspicions of a possible militant angle, the officials said.
The two men have been identified as Babi Chand (57) and Rashpal Kumar (45). They were posted with the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the local police at Kiyar village in Dachhan and had gone missing on Wednesday while travelling from their camp to an Army post at Dharna-Marwah.
Their mobile phones were initially reachable but were later switched off, prompting concerns and prompting an extensive search operation.
Security forces rushed reinforcements and deployed specialised teams equipped with drones and sniffer dogs, widening the search across the forested upper reaches of Dachhan. The operation was expanded to cover a wider area around Kiyar and the route towards Dharna-Marwah. While drones scanned inaccessible forest stretches, sniffer dogs assisted ground teams in tracking possible movement.
"A massive operation is underway to identify and neutralise the assailants," said an official.
Kishtwar, about 200 km from Jammu, has been a focus of counter-insurgency operations, which have resulted in the killing of several active terrorists. Security forces are continuing efforts to eliminate the remaining terrorist presence in the area's remote and forested areas, officials said.
According to available figures, five people, including four terrorists and one Army soldier, were killed in terror-related incidents in 2026.
The latest incident comes in the backdrop of repeated appeals by the district administration and security agencies for greater public cooperation in tackling terrorism and ensuring lasting peace in the region.
On October 4, Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar Pankaj Kumar Sharma urged residents of the remote areas of Marwah, Warwan and Dachhan to stand united against terrorism and share timely information about the movement of suspected terrorists with security forces.
"Marwah, Warwan and Dachhan areas have immense tourism potential, but the presence of active militants remains one of the key reasons restricting tourist movement in the region," Sharma said, stressing that peace and security were essential for promoting tourism and ensuring sustainable development. |
