Amir Tantray
Doda, Aug 14: An army captain and a terrorist were killed in an ongoing encounter between security forces and terrorists in Akar forests of Shivgarh Dhar in the upper reaches of Assar area of J&K’s Doda district on Wednesday, a day ahead of Independence Day.
A civilian was also injured in the incident and was shifted to a hospital for the treatment, where his condition is stated as stable.
According to reports, security forces finally got the success in eliminating a terrorist, 49 days after three terrorists were killed in Sinoo forests of Gundoh sub division of Doda district on June 26. However, leading from the front, Army lost its captain who was identified as Deepak Singh.
Defence sources said that firefight began last evening around 7.12 pm when a contact with the terrorists was established and exchange of fire took place. After the initial fire, the operation was suspended for the night whereas the cordon was put in place not to prevent the terrorists from fleeing from the area. With the first light of the day, the search operation resumed and security forces got success in recovering US made M-4 carbine and three bag packs which had incriminating material inside.
The contact with hiding terrorists was re-established and intermittent firing continued throughout the day. According to the Indian Army, during the search operation an officer, who was identified as Captain Deepak Singh, got injured and later succumbed.
A spokesman of White Knight Corps (16 Corps) of Indian Army had posted on X, “Op Assar: Update; Search for the terrorists continues amidst heavy firefight. One officer has been injured while leading the search party. War-like stores have been recovered as operations continue.”
But after that the officer succumbed to his injuries and 16 Corps paid tributes to the officer on X and posted, “All Ranks of White Knight Corps salute the supreme sacrifice of brave heart Capt Deepak Singh who succumbed to his injuries. White Knight Corps offers deepest condolences and stands firm with the bereaved family in this hour of grief.”
During the operation, the forces also recovered an AK-47 rifle from the slain terrorist. Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Jammu zone Anand Jain and Deputy Inspector general (DIG) of police Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban range Shridhar Patil visited Assar to assess the situation. Senior Army officers also visited Assar to boost the morale of soldiers.
The encounter spot is deep inside forests of Akar where security forces have to walk miles from Assar to reach the exact spot. The dense vegetation, foggy conditions and difficult terrain were the few among many hardships faced by the security forces to corner the militants who have been on the run since long. Defence sources said that while one terrorist was killed today, there are inputs about the presence of two to three more in the area for which a massive combing operation is underway.
Since April 28, this year when militants killed a Village Defence Guard (VDG) member Muhammad Sharief in upper reaches of Basantgarh, security forces have been manning the upper reaches of Udhampur, Doda and Kathua districts and several times the contact was established with militants at different places but couldn’t get success. The security forces suffered fatalities during this period in the upper reaches of Billawar in Kathua district and Urrarbaggi area of Dessa in Doda district but forces continue to track down the militants hiding in forests.
Meanwhile, the cordon and search operation was going on and intermittent firing was reported from the area.
