Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir): Day after a CRPF officer was killed and three other soldiers in a militant attack in Cheel area of Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district, security officers continued an anti-militancy search operation to nab a group of militants hiding in the area, on the second consecutive day on Tuesday.
The operation started on Monday when the exchange of fire took place between militants and joint parties of Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF at Chill, Dudu Udhampur district of Jammu Division. In the exchange of gunfire, one Inspector of CRPF suffered bullet injuries and later succumbed while three others were injured.
As per sources, a group of three to four militants are believed to be involved in the attack on CRPF patrol party and the militants are trapped inside the cordon and search operation.
Security forces personnel, assisted by helicopter and drone surveillance, have undertaken massive searches in the forests of Udhampur district after the militant attack.
In the midst of the search by ground troops, para commandos have also been dropped at different locations to find and neutralise absconding militants.
Inspector Kuldeep Kumar, an officer from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was killed in action after militants fired on a patrol party in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur. Inspector Kumar was part of the 187 Batallion of CRPF.
Monday's attack took place in the Jammu region, which for several years, remained relatively silent compared to Kashmir. There has been a spurt of militant activities in Jammu, particularly in the southern reaches of the Pir Panjal range, which contains thick forests and steep mountains that provide cover for militants.
On August 14, an army officer, Captain Deepak Singh, was killed in action after an encounter broke out in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda. A civilian was also injured in the incident. The officer suffered gunshot wounds in a forested area during a cordon-and-search operation in the Shivgarh-Assar belt of Doda.
The militant attacks cast a shadow to the much awaited Assembly Elections which will be held in the Union Territory for the first time since 2014. Voting will be held in three phases, on September 18, September 25, and October 1, with results to be announced on October 4.
