Army thwarts terror attack in Rajouri

Jammu, Jul 22: Alert soldiers thwarted a major terrorist attack on a home of a soldier in Budhal -Khawas area of Rajouri, an official said Monday.
Officials said that the terrorists opened fire at one of temporary army posts, which was operational near the house of a VDG member Parshotam Kumar, a Village Defence Guard (VDG) member in Gundha -a remote village of Rajouri district at around 3:10 hrs and the fire was promptly retaliated by security personnel,” official said, adding, “The attack was given appropriate retaliation by alert security personnel.”
Sources said that an army trooper was injured in a brief exchange of fire between terrorists and hospitalized, but there has been no official confirmation on the same.
This attack follows two high-level meetings chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi in Jammu on Saturday, where they reviewed the security situation in response to the recent surge in terror attacks in the region. According to sources, security forces initiated a cordon and search operation (CASO) in a village in the Budhal area of Rajouri district after suspected terrorists opened fire at a security picket/post early in the morning.
“Two to three terrorists attempted to assault gallantry soldier Kumar, who was recently awarded the Shaurya Chakra for his bravery several months ago when he killed one terrorist and injured another during a previous encounter,” an official said.
On July 5, President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Shaurya Chakra upon SgCt Saifullah Qadri (posthumously), DySP (now SP) Mohan Lal, SI Amit Raina, SI Feroz Ahmad, Constable Varun Singh of J&K Police, and Purshotum Kumar, a Village Defence Guard member, at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Sources added that additional reinforcements were quickly dispatched to the area, and a search operation has been initiated to locate the hiding terrorists.
This incident follows another attempted terror attack on a Territorial Army (TA) battalion post in Galuti Patrara village of Manjakote, Rajouri district, on July 7. An Army sentry deployed at the post sustained injuries during the initial exchange of gunfire, which lasted for half an hour on Sunday morning. The Terrorist attack was thwarted as fire was retaliated with equal calibre by the army.
Meanwhile, Jammu based defence spokesperson said that a major terror attack on Army picket in remote village of Rajouri was thwarted. He informed that the operation is in progress. (KNO)