Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 16: Four army personnel including an officer, were killed in exchange of fire with a group of heavily armed terrorists in Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.
The gunfight, which began on Monday evening was the third major encounter between security forces and terrorists in the forests of Doda district in the past three weeks.
Troops of the Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir Police had launched a joint cordon and search operation at Dhari Gote Urarbagi in the Desa forest belt, some 55 km from Doda town, late on Monday evening when the encounter took place, the officials said.
After a brief exchange of fire, the terrorists tried to escape but were chased by the troops led by an officer despite the challenging terrain and thick foliage, they said, adding this led to another firefight around 9 p.m. on Monday.
Five soldiers were critically injured in the encounter. Four of them, including the officer, later succumbed to injuries, the officials said. Those killed in the encounter are Captain Brijesh Thapa, Naik D. Rajesh, Sepoy Bijendra and Sepoy Ajay, according to officials.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha on July 16 vowed to avenge the death of the soldiers. In a post on X, Mr Sinha said, “We will avenge death of our soldiers & thwart the evil designs of terrorists and their associates. I call upon the people to unite in the fight against terrorism & provide us accurate information so that we can intensify anti-terror operations & neutralise the terror ecosystem.” He also paid tributes to slain soldiers.
“I am deeply anguished to learn about the cowardly attack on our Army soldiers and JKP personnel in Doda district. Tributes to brave soldiers who made supreme sacrifice protecting our nation. My deepest condolences to members of the bereaved families,” he added.
Official sources said the militants who killed four armymen in Doda could be the same group who had fled after attacking the security forces and the police in the district’s Sezan forests on July 9 evening.
According to sources, security forces had been looking for them for the past week. Around 9 pm on Monday, contact was made with the militants, leading to a heavy firefight in which four soldiers were killed. Sources say the area has been encircled, and fresh reinforcements from the Army, including para commandos, and police’s Special Operation Group have been rushed there. Ground teams are being assisted by helicopter and drone surveillance, but there’s no sign of the militants so far.
Anti-Pakistan protests were held in Jammu on Tuesday with protesters raising slogans against the neighbouring country and burning its effigies. Shiv Sena Dogra Front (SSDF), Mission Statehood and several civil society groups held protests across the city. The protesters denounced Pakistan for “supporting” terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
Intelligence sources said the Doda attack could be the work of a group affiliated to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) active in Jammu. “The Army was aware of the new infiltration on July 9 and had deployed forces to nab these groups. In Doda, there is a possibility that Jaish groups have infiltrated recently,” said sources.
According to sources, two groups are active in Jammu, one in Rajouri Poonch and a new group which has entered from Doda Reasi area where killings are happening at a fast pace. “These two groups are not related to each other and have been sent separately. The total strength in Rajouri Poonch is 10-12 and 20-25 are in Doda Reasi area. While the groups in Doda Reasi are from JeM, those in the old Rajouri Poonch are from PAFF/ Lashkar-e-Taiba,” sources said, adding the terrain was giving them an advantage.
Sources said the search parties are struggling to navigate the dense forests on treacherous mountain terrain, where pine trees grow to a height of 200-250 feet with a dense wild growth underneath. The forests are so dense that it is difficult to see someone hiding beyond 3-4 feet, sources said.
These dense forests are spread over a vast area, starting from Udhampur’s Basantgarh to Paddar in Kishtwar district and Jawahar tunnel in Ramban district, sources said, adding that the militants are using the terrain to their advantage.
Security agencies also apprehend that this is not the only terrorist group moving in Doda district – it is believed that there are more in the higher reaches of the district, which touches Kashmir Valley on one side, Ramban and Udhampur district on the second, Kathua on the third, and Himachal on the fourth side.
The Army has been conducting a series of joint and coordinated operations with the J&K police to eliminate the militants, who they believe infiltrated from across the border and are moving in the upper reaches of Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar and Bhaderwah. Searches in Doda forests have been underway since militants attacked a patrol party, killing an SPO on April 28 in Udhampur district’s Basantgarh area, which borders Bhaderwah’s Seoj Dhar area.
“Deeply saddened by the loss of our brave and courageous Indian Army Soldiers in a counter terrorist operation in Urrar Baggi, Doda (J&K),” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on X. “My heart goes out to the bereaved families. The Nation stands firmly with the families of our soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty,” he said.
The latest incident comes a week after a terrorist ambush on an Army patrol in the remote Machedi forest belt in Kathua district claimed the lives of five soldiers and injured as many.
Jammu has become the new terror battleground, with almost 50 foreign terrorists. “Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is under pressure to deliver because of drying number of attacks in Srinagar and no OGW network available. ISI also knows that it will take time for Indian forces to deploy soldiers in Jammu,” sources said.
Sources in the government say it was a new challenge which had to be fought with keeping new deployment in mind. “The Army, CRPF and Police will have to take charge and we are hopeful of neutralising these groups very fast,” they said.
The Jammu region, which remained relatively peaceful between 2005 and 2021 after security forces wiped out decades-long terrorism, witnessed a spike in terror attacks over the past month. It included an attack on a pilgrim bus that left nine persons dead and 40 injured.
Terror activities resurfaced in October 2021 from the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri. Some of the deadly attacks that spread to Reasi, Kathua and Doda were attributed by the security establishment as an attempt by Pakistani handlers to revive terrorism in the Jammu region. Over 70 people, including 52 security personnel — mostly from the Army — have been killed in terror-related incidents in the Jammu region since 2021. Most of the casualties were from Rajouri and Poonch districts where 54 terrorists were also eliminated, the officials said.
Three terrorists were also killed in Reasi district and two others in Kathua district, they added.
According to various estimates, there are around 20-25 hardened militants who are likely to have infiltrated from Pakistan. Their activity has been noticed around 40-50 km from the border. There are likely two groups, one of them is active in the Poonch-Rajouri axis in the west, and the other in the Kathua-Doda-Basantgarh belt in the east. In the Kathua belt, they are operating in a grid of 30-40 sq km, the investigation suggests. Difficult terrain, forested tracts, poor quality of roads and patchy mobile connectivity are some of the challenges.
