Pak sending retired soldiers on terror missions, says Army

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, November 23

Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, General-officer-Commanding in Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Northern Command, has said that some of the active terrorists and also a few killed in J&K have been retired soldiers from Pakistan’s army.

“Some of the terrorists whom we identified (after being killed) were retired army personnel from Pakistan. As there are no local recruits presently, Pakistan is trying to push in foreign terrorists who are being eliminated by security forces under different operations,” said Dwivedi when he was asked about the possibility of Pakistan army men in J&K as terrorists.

Over 20 militants active

• Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi says 20 to 25 terrorists have been active in Rajouri and Poonch areas. Those killed in Rajouri were probably trained in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• The movement of those terrorists was reported by local residents. If this (trend) continues, terrorism will be eliminated from the region within one year, he adds.

He was speaking at Satwari cantonment in Jammu after paying tributes to the five soldiers who died while fighting two terrorists in Bajimaal area of Kalakote in Rajouri district. “The soldiers have received martyrdom in the line of duty but we have been able to eliminate dreaded terrorists who were instrumental in killing civilians in Dhangri and other areas. Their elimination was necessary for the restoration of peace in the region,” the Army commander said. These terrorists have killed at least 10 civilians in one year, he informed.

Dwivedi said that since Poonch and Rajouri districts were connected with the rest of the country through a highway, there was a high probability of presence of more terrorists there. “I can’t talk about the precise number but I believe there are 20-25 active terrorists in the area. We have received major support from the local populace and if this continues we will be able to control terrorism within one year. Local population will come forward and report more on the movement of terrorists. Even this time locals reported the movement of these two terrorists,” he said.

He said that it took time to eliminate the terrorists as they were believably trained in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He termed the elimination of the two terrorists a major setback to the terror infrastructure.

Lt General Dwivedi reviewed the operational situation in Kalakote. He also complimented and felicitated the troops and the Army dog, Domino, who was part of the operation which was conducted in a difficult terrain.

Meanwhile, the Army has recovered war-like stores from the encounter site in Kalakote. What is surprising is that there was storage of medicines and other medical equipment used to heal major injuries. Woollen clothing present at the site suggested that the terrorists were ready for a long haul in the region.

Giving details of the Rajouri encounter, Brigadier Soumeet Patnaik of the 14 Sector, Rashtriya Rifles (RR), said the area where the encounter broke out was forested, having some ‘dhoks’ (temporary shelters).

Patnaik said a search party had been trying to locate the terrorists after receiving intelligence inputs in the forest area when they came under heavy firing.

“Captain MV Pranjal came out of the cover and secured children and women present in the dhoks and later started retaliation,” said Patnaik. He said Captain Pranjal and his team members continued firing to ensure that the militants cannot escape. “For half hour the firing continued. Later, Pranjal was hit by a bullet.

Boulders, vegetation and tough terrain allowed the terrorists to run into the forest,” Patnaik said. The operation was stopped in the evening on November 22 and additional troops were deployed. For the entire night, UAV, night vision cameras were deployed to keep vigil in the area.

On November 23 at 7.40 am a terrorist who was trying to break the cordon was hit by bullets by paratrooper Sachin Laur who was also hit. Till 1.30 pm, the other terrorist had also been killed.

The Army has located the hideout in the forest area that was being used by the terrorists to carry out their operations. Sharing pictures of the small cave, the officials said such hideouts were relatively difficult to detect and breach.

In Bengaluru, the family members of Captain MV Pranjal and others were waiting for the arrival of his mortal remains. Son of M Venkatesh, retired MD of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), Pranjal did his schooling at Surathkal in Dakshina Kannada district. In a statement, the MRPL said, “The event profoundly saddens us, the MRPL family.”

The school where he studied remembered him as a soft-spoken, sensitive and mature individual. (With PTI inputs)

Two AK-47 rifles seized

Two AK-47 rifles, 10 magazines, ammunition and other materials have been seized from the encounter site in Bajimaal area of Rajouri district, said officials. Apart from war-like stores, medical equipment and woolen clothes have also been found.