KISHTWAR: The bullet-riddled bodies of two Special Police Officers (SPOs), who went missing during a security patrol in the remote Dachhan-Marwah belt of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, have been recovered by search teams near the Dherna post.
The deceased SPOs have been identified as Rashpal Kumar (40) and Babi Chand (54).
According to initial reports, one of the officers sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head, while the other was shot in the back. Officials suspect that terrorists concealed in the forested terrain ambushed the duo while they were proceeding toward the Dherna post to relieve two of their colleagues on duty.
The service weapons carried by the officers—an INSAS rifle and a .303 rifle—were missing from the spot. Investigating agencies believe the attackers fled with the arms after committing the murder.
Preliminary details indicate that both officers were deployed on patrol duty alongside Army personnel and were en route to the Dherna post when communication with them was lost. Local sources reported hearing gunshots in the area during the day. While their mobile phones initially rang, both handsets were subsequently switched off, triggering immediate alarm among security forces.
When the SPOs failed to report back, joint security teams launched a massive search operation, eventually discovering their bodies at the Dherna Top area on Thursday morning. A comprehensive cordon-and-search operation has been intensified by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and security forces to hunt down the perpetrators.
Kishtwar has remained a focused sector for counter-insurgency operations aimed at neutralizing residual terrorist elements hiding in its dense, high-altitude forested regions. Successive security drives in recent months have resulted in the elimination of several active terrorists, significantly dismantling their network in the district.
The incident comes weeks after another SPO, 55-year-old Bashir Ahmed, was found dead near his residence at Wanipora Trigam in Kishtwar on October 16. Ahmed, posted at the Pedil Police Post, had gone missing while returning home from duty along with his service-issued Self-Loading Rifle (SLR). A detailed police investigation later revealed that he had been murdered by relatives over a ongoing family land dispute.
For more details: Navamalayalam.com