Terrorist killed in Kathua, op continues

A terrorist, believed to be Pakistani, was killed during an encounter with security forces in Billawar area of Kathua, just two days before the district participates in the final phase of Assembly elections.

A police head constable, identified as Bashir Ahmed, was killed in action in the same encounter on Saturday in the initial exchange of firing between security forces and terrorists. Police said there was information of 3-4 foreign terrorists hiding in a house in Kog village in Billawar after which an operation was launched on Saturday morning.

Two other policemen, including DSP (Operations) Sukhbir and Assistant Sub Inspector Niaz Ahmed were injured during the encounter. Both the policemen were airlifted to Jammu for further treatment and are stated to be stable.

“J&K Police Head Constable Bashir Ahmed has made supreme sacrifice. He fired at the terrorist and received mortal wounds in exchange of fire,” an official said.

The body of the terrorist riddled with bullets was recovered on Sunday morning by the joint team of Army and Special Operations Group (SOG) of J&K Police.

The search operation for the remaining terrorists, believed to be armed with sophisticated weapons and night vision devices, continues. The group is believed to be active in the region for the past few months.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Anand Jain along with Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Shiv Kumar Sharma was present at the spot overseeing the operation. Jain said the security forces received information about presence of ultras after which an operation was launched immediately. “Unfortunately, one of our men, Bashir Ahmed, died during the exchange of fire. The entire area has been cordoned so that the remaining terrorists are not able to escape,” he said.

Jain said as per intelligence there is information about 3-4 foreign terrorists. “But details will come out after the operation is over. The terrorists are hiding inside a house,” he said.

The ADGP further said that proper security arrangements were made for the Assembly polls due to which the police received intelligence inputs on time.

Director General of Police RR Swain also paid tributes to the fallen policeman, saying “Bashir did not fear death when it came to protecting his community and countrymen”.