Srinagar: Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district have continued a massive search operation for the fourth straight day, hunting for suspected infiltrators in forested areas. The multi-agency effort, involving the army, National Security Guard (NSG), Border Security Force (BSF), police, Special Operations Group (SOG), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), has deployed advanced surveillance tools, including drones, UAVs, bulletproof vehicles, and sniffer dogs.

The operation was launched on Sunday evening following an encounter between security forces and suspected terrorists in the Hiranagar sector. Intelligence reports had indicated terrorist movement inside a dhok (local enclosure) in a nursery in Sanyal village, about five kilometers from the International Border with Pakistan. Security personnel engaged in a half-hour-long gunfight after the hiding militants opened fire.

While no fresh encounters have taken place since the initial exchange, security forces have discovered crucial evidence, including four loaded magazines of an M4 carbine, two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, sleeping bags, tracksuits, and food packets. Notably, the tracksuits resemble those worn by four Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists killed in encounters in Assar forests and Doda in June and August last year.

The search intensified after a local woman, Darshana Devi, informed police that two men in army uniforms had asked her for water while eating in the Ding Amb belt before heading towards the forest. Acting on this tip-off, security personnel cordoned off the area and heightened vigilance along the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway, particularly in the Samba-Kathua section and nearby border roads.

Three suspects have been taken in for questioning as security agencies continue to track the infiltrators. Meanwhile, villagers in the region have actively joined security forces in their efforts, urging residents to remain alert and report any suspicious movements.

With reinforcements in place and security tightened across multiple locations from Sanyal to Ding Amb, authorities are determined to apprehend the suspected terrorists, who are believed to have entered Indian territory via a ravine or a newly dug tunnel. The search operation remains ongoing as forces leave no stone unturned in their efforts to secure the region.

(With PTI inputs)