Senior police officer, four soldiers injured in J&K’s Kulgam gunfight

Srinagar: Four soldiers and a senior J&K Police officer were injured on Saturday in an encounter between terrorists and the security forces in Kulgam district.

Officials said that four soldiers and a senior police officer were injured during the gunfight in the Adigam area of the district.

“After receiving specific intelligence inputs about the presence of a group of terrorists in Adigam village of Kulgam district, security forces including the Army, police and the CRPF started a CASO (Cordon and Search Operation) in the area. After carefully approaching the hiding terrorists to ensure that no damage was caused to civilian life and property, the security forces came under heavy firing from the terrorists. Four Army soldiers and a senior officer of J&K Police were injured,” said officials here.

The injured have been identified as Kulgam Additional Superintendent of Police Mumtaz Ali Bhatti, sepoy Mohan Sharma, sepoy Sohan Kumar, sepoy Yoginder and sepoy Mohammad Isran of the Rashtriya Rifles.

“Security forces have plugged all escape routes to ensure that the hiding terrorists are unable to escape. Reinforcements have already reached the encounter site. The injured security personnel have been shifted to hospital for treatment,” officials said.

Terrorists believed to be hardcore foreign mercenaries have carried out hit-and-run attacks against the Army, local police and civilians in the hilly districts of Doda, Kathua, Rajouri, Poonch and Reasi of Jammu division during the last three to four months.

After carrying out ambushes against the Army and others in the hilly areas, the terrorists would escape into the densely foliaged and forested regions of these hilly districts.

To thwart the tactics of the terrorists, over 4,000 soldiers drawn from the elite Para Commandos and those trained in mountain warfare were deployed in the high ranges and densely forested areas of the Jammu division. After this revised strategy by the security forces, terrorist attacks in these districts have drastically come down.

With their ubiquitous presence in these areas, the security forces have been able to establish contact (engage terrorists in gunfights) in these areas.