Northern Command chief briefs L-G Sinha on Op Mahadev

A day after security forces killed three ultras responsible for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Northern Command, on Tuesday called on J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and briefed him on Operation Mahadev.

Officials said he was accompanied by Lt Gen Prashant Srivastava, General Officer Commanding (GOC),15 Corps.

The Lieutenant Governor congratulated the Army, CRPF and J&K Police for the successful operation.

This crucial operation, executed in the challenging Dachigam forest, resulted in the elimination of three Pakistani terrorists responsible for the heinous Pahalgam terror attack.

GOC-in-C Northern Command informed that search operations had been ongoing in South Kashmir to Dachigam forest areas for the past few months. “There were persistent reports about terrorists hiding in this area. Recently, based on specific intelligence inputs, special teams were activated,” he said.

A joint operation was then launched by the Army, Jammu & Kashmir Police and CRPF, with the significant assistance of intelligence agencies, leading to the elimination of Pakistani terrorists.

On Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed the Lok Sabha about the elimination of three terrorists – Suleman Shah, Hamza Afghani and Jibran – in Operation Mahadev, a joint operation of Army, CRPF and J&K Police in Dachigam on Monday.

He said that Suleman was an ‘A’ category commander of LeT who was involved in the terrorist attacks in Pahalgam and Gagangir. Afghan and Jibran were also category ‘A’ terrorists of LeT, who killed innocent civilians in Baisaran Valley in Pahalgam on April 22.