Rajouri Encounter: In the ongoing operation in the Rajouri sector, three soldiers who were critically injured in the morning have unfortunately succumbed to their injuries. With this, a total of 5 jawans have been martyred and one officer has sustained injury. According to reports, the gunfight took place in the Kesari area of Kandi hamlet in Rajouri district on Friday morning, which is still underway.
The five bravehearts have been identified as L/Nk Ruchin Singh Rawat (Uttarakhand), Paratrooper Siddhant Chettri (West Bengal), Nk Arvind Kumar (Himachal Pradesh), Hav Neelam Singh (Jammu), and Paratrooper Pramod Negi (Himachal Pradesh).
The joint teams of forces approached the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon them which was retaliated, triggering an encounter. As per the sources, two to three militants are believed to be trapped in the area. Officials further informed that mobile internet services have been suspended in Rajouri.
"An encounter has started in the Kandi area of Rajouri," Mukesh Singh, ADGP Jammu said.
"Despite incessant rains and bad weather, Indian Army columns have been conducting relentless intelligence-based operations to flush out a group of terrorists involved in an ambush on an army truck in the Tota Gali area of Bhata Dhurian in the Jammu region. On specific information about the presence of terrorists in the Kandi Forest in the Rajauri Sector, a joint operation was launched on 03 May 2023. At about 0730 hours on 05 May 2023, a search team established contact with a group of terrorists well entrenched in a cave. The area is thickly vegetated with rocky and steep cliffs," a statement from defence establishment said.
"The terrorists triggered an explosive device in retaliation. The Army team has suffered two fatal casualties with injuries to four more soldiers including an officer. Additional teams from the vicinity have been directed to the site of the encounter. The injured personnel have been evacuated to Command Hospital, Udhampur," it added.
A group of terrorists are trapped in the area
"As per initial reports, a group of terrorists are trapped in the area. There is a likelihood of casualties in terrorist group. The operation is in progress. Further details are being ascertained," the statement said.
The gunfight started after a joint team of police and security forces got input about the presence of terrorists in that area. After security forces cordoned off the area, terrorists hiding there started firing, drawing retaliation from the security forces.
There have been a series of encounters between the terrorists and security forces in the Union territory in the recent past in which terrorists have been eliminated. Two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists were killed in an encounter with the security forces in the Drach area in Wanigam Payeen Kreeri area of North Kashmir's Baramulla district on Thursday. On Wednesday, an infiltration bid was foiled, and two terrorists were killed along the Line of Control (LoC) in Machil sector of north Kashmir's Kupwara district.
