When the special forces engaged a group of terrorists who had abducted and murdered two defense guards (VDGs) three days prior in the Kishtwar district of Jammu & Kashmir, a junior commissioned officer (JCO) was killed in action and three soldiers were wounded, two of them critically, according to officers with knowledge of the situation on Sunday. Following the killings on Thursday, security personnel launched a huge operation scouring the Jammu region’s Kuntwara and Keshwan regions.
An officer with knowledge of situation stated, “A battle broke out on Sunday morning at approximately 11 a.m. in the Gidri Top area of Kishtwar, close to Chas, where the special forces had been pursuing them since Thursday. Three soldiers were hurt in the encounter, and a JCO was slain.
Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar, a member of the 2 Parachute Regiment (special forces) from Himachal Pradesh, was identified as the deceased officer.
The terrorists were able to flee the area after the ambush, according to an intelligence official. According to him, “an army helicopter later airlifted critically injured soldiers to Command Hospital in Udhampur,” and other reinforcements were airdropped nearby. The two VDGs were kidnapped and killed by terrorists in Kishtwar, amid protests, a shutdown, and outrage over the killings. On Friday, security personnel retrieved their remains. Two residents of Ohli-Kuntwara village, Nazir Ahmad, 45, and Kuldeep Kumar, 33, took their livestock to graze in the Munzla Dhar forest on Thursday morning…. Due to their late-night return, the army, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and the state police conducted a joint search. Kashmir Tigers, a division of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), claimed to have kidnapped and murdered the two men amid the chaotic search.
In a post on X on Sunday morning, the army’s White Knight Corps, stationed in Nagrota, stated that it has acquired precise information regarding the existence of the same terrorists in the region. Security personnel in the general region of Bhart Ridge, Kishtwar, conducted a coordinated operation based on specific intelligence input regarding the presence of terrorists. Two innocent locals (village defense guards) were kidnapped and killed by this same bunch. After contact was made, a gunfight broke out, according to the post.
The handle posted again about six hours later with the following message: “#GOC #WhiteknightCorps and all ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of #Braveheart, Nb Sub Rakesh Kumar of 2 Para (SF). Sub Rakesh was part of a joint #CI operation launched in general area of # Bhart Ridge #Kishtwar on 09 Nov 2024. We stand with bereaved family in this hour of grief”.
The Ksihtwar district police also shared on X on Sunday: “Encounter begins at Keshwan Kishtwar between terrorists and Security forces. 3/4 terrorists believed to be trapped. This is same group which killed the 2 innocent villagers. Further details to follow, it added.” To find the terrorists responsible for the deaths, officials had previously stated that security forces were utilizing drones, sniffer dogs, and helicopters as part of a large cordon and search operation in Kishtwar.
The location of Sunday’s confrontation is Gidri Top, which is close to Chas and lies between Keshwan and Kuntwara. Surrounded by hills and thick woodland, Gidri Top is about 5 km from Pondgwari Rivulet, where two guards’ bodies were discovered on Friday morning. Munzla Dhar is about 4.5 km away from Ohli Kuntwara. But it’s nearly 90-degree climb. Two VDGs’ lifeless remains were interred and cremated at the Ohli Kuntwara hamlet in Kishtwar on Saturday. Saima, Ahmed’s daughter, claimed to have recognized her father from the terrorists’ published photo. “Avenge my father’s murder.” Three brothers and a sister make up our family. The sole provider for our family was our father,” she remarked.
After the VDGs were killed, the Kashmir Tigers issued a statement. There are some naive individuals joining the VDGs. They ought to refrain from participating in VDGs after learning from today’s incident. In a letter, the terror group published a picture of the two blindfolded men’s bodies and stated, “If not, they will also suffer the same fate.”
In different incidents in Jammu this year, 16 security officers, 10 civilians, and three VDGs have lost their lives. Thirteen terrorists have also been shot dead by security officers in the area. 15 civilians and nine military men have lost their lives in terror assaults in Kashmir. In the same time frame, security agents have killed 24 terrorists in the Valley.
This week’s gunfights took place after J&K’s first elected government since the repeal of Article 370 in 2019 took office on October 16, following a series of terror attacks and confrontations in the region. Twelve civilians were hurt on November 3 when terrorists detonated a grenade in a crowded Srinagar marketplace. After concurrent clashes in Anantnag and Srinagar the previous day, three terrorists were slain, including a senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander. It was Srinagar’s first significant gunfight between forces and terrorists in two years. On October 24, militants ambushed an army convoy in the Kashmiri area of Baramulla, killing two soldiers and two civilian porters. Four days prior, militants in the Valley’s Ganderbal area opened fire on a construction site camp, killing seven people.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha stated, “I honor the bravery and selfless sacrifice of Nb Sub Rakesh Kumar, the Army’s hero, who lost his life while performing his duty in Kishtwar. He will always be recognized for his unselfish contribution to the country. I express my sincere sympathies to the martyr’s family”.
Senior BJP politician and opposition leader in the J&K legislative assembly, Sunil Sharma, also sent his sympathies for the officer’s passing. He wrote on X, “Warmest regards to 2 Para (Special Forces) member Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar, a hero who gave his life during a combined counterterrorism operation in the Bhart Ridge neighborhood of Kishtwar on November 9. We shall always remember his unselfish dedication to the country”.
Kavinder Gupta, a former deputy chief minister, stated that the increase in terrorist attacks in the region is quite concerning. “Even while security forces have stepped up counterinsurgency efforts and will eliminate terrorists, such strikes would not be feasible without the assistance of civilians… “The government needs to destroy the entire terror network ecosystem in the area,” he continued.
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