Police intensify search for two missing boys in Kathua, terror link suspected

Special police teams have been constituted to trace the missing boys, with senior police officials rushing to the district to oversee the operations being conducted by security forces, including the Army and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of J&K Police. Given the dense forest terrain, drones and dog squads are also being deployed.

The missing boys have been identified as Mohammad Din (15) and Rehmat Ali (12), who had gone to graze their cattle in the Marheen area of Kathua. When they did not return, their families searched for them for several days. However, after the recent killings of three civilians in the Billawar area of Kathua, the families formally reported the matter, and an FIR was registered on March 9.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Shiv Kumar Sharma visited Marheen and met with the families of the missing boys. He was accompanied by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Border Dheeraj Katoch and Rajbagh SHO Ajay Chib, who assured the families that all efforts were being made to locate the missing children.

According to the families, on February 27 at around 11 am, the boys had left for cattle grazing near Bhamberwan, close to a goat farm, but never returned home. Following this, a case was registered under Section 137(2).

Kathua police are also coordinating with their counterparts in Punjab and other parts of J&K in an effort to trace the boys.

The intelligence agencies are on high alert due to the increasing terrorist activity in Kathua district, which witnessed a major ambush on Army vehicles in the Badnota forests last July, resulting in the death of five soldiers.

The recent killings of three persons, including a teenager, in Malhar area have further raised security concerns with Union Minister Jitendra Singh attributing it to terrorists. Additionally, two men were found murdered in Billawar last month, though the findings of the investigation have not yet been made public.

The issue of rising incidents of terrorism has also been raised by MLAs in Legislative Assembly going on in Jammu. Kathua shares its boundaries with Punjab, Himachal Pradesh besides Pakistan.