J&K: Flashlights installed around gunfight site in Kulgam (Lead)

Srinagar, Nov 13 (WISHAVWARTA/IANS) Security forces intensified the cordon around the holed terrorists on Wednesday in J&K’s Kulgam district. Earlier, a joint party of the security forces was fired upon by hiding terrorists in Badimarg village of Yaripora area in Kulgam district. The security forces were laying a cordon around the area after receiving intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area. The terrorist fire was retaliated after which an encounter had started. Additional reinforcements have reached the area. The layers of cordon are being strengthened and flashlights have been installed to ensure that the terrorists are not able to escape under the cover of darkness, officials said. An encounter started yesterday between the security forces and the terrorists in the Nadimarg area of the Bandipora district. Wednesday’s gunfight is the 6th back to back gunfight in the Valley. This is in addition to the one in the Kishtwar district of Jammu region where one JCO of the army’s 2 Para was martyred and 3 other soldiers injured. The massive search operation started in the Kishtwar district has entered its 7th day today. The search operation was started when two village defence committee (VDC) members, Kuldeep Kumar and Nazir Ahmad were abducted from village Ohli and then brutally shot dead in the forest area of Keshwan in Kishtwar district. The VDCs are groups of local villagers who are provided with weapons by the police in far-flung areas of the Jammu division to protect themselves and their families from terrorists. In order to strengthen the VDCs, J&K Police are equipping them with automatic weapons and better training for self-defence. The terrorists have been viewing the civilians of the VDCs as their potential enemies since the civilian population in far-flung areas of the Jammu division has cordial relations with the army and the security forces. In times of natural calamities or medical emergencies, the army and the security forces always lend a much-needed helping hand to the civilian population. The attacks on unarmed civilians in Kathua, Doda, Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri and Udhampur districts in the past six months are seen as the result of increasing frustrations among the terror handlers across the border.