Hunt on for 3 other ultras | 10 Army men lost lives in Jammu since July

Captain martyred, Pak terrorist gunned down in J&K encounter

Hunt on for 3 other ultras | 10 Army men lost lives in Jammu since July

Army personnel keep vigil near the site of encounter with terrorists in Doda on Wednesday. PTI

Jammu, August 14

In a yet another setback to the Army, a Captain was martyred during an encounter with a group of terrorists in the Assar forest area of Doda district on Wednesday. A terrorist, believed to be a Pakistani, was also eliminated during the gunfight, officials said.

It was the fourth encounter in recent days in the Udhampuri-Doda-Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir.

A group of at least four terrorists first engaged with security forces on Tuesday, said the officials, adding that after the initial gunfight, the group managed to flee from the spot. Multiple brief gunfights took place between the security forces and terrorists since Tuesday evening. As the search operation was launched on Wednesday morning, another gun battle broke out in which Captain Deepak Singh was critically injured. He was shifted to a military hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, sources said. Captain Deepak Singh belonged to Dehradun in Uttarakhand.

With Captain Deepak’s martyrdom, the Army has lost 10 soldiers since July in the Jammu region. Five soldiers were killed in an ambush of two Army trucks on July 8 in Machedi of Kathua district. On July 15, four soldiers, including a Captain, were killed in the Desa forest area of Doda district during an encounter.

After the Wednesday morning’s encounter, the J&K Police and the Army found an M4 carbine and four backpacks at the spot, said the officials. Blood stains were also found suggesting that one of the ultras was injured.

Later, another encounter took place in which one terrorist, believed to be the one who was injured, was killed. An AK-47 was found near the slain ultra.

In a statement, Jammu-based White Knight Corps said, “All ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of braveheart 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.”

The Army further said one terrorist had been neutralised in the ongoing operation. “One AK-47 was recovered in addition to an M4 rifle. Intermittent exchange of firing continued as the operations are going on,” it said.

The Assar forest in Doda is a tri-junction which is close to the border of Udhampur and Ramban districts. The remaining terrorists are moving within this forest area.

The Army said war-like stores were recovered as the operation to eliminate remaining terrorists continues. The operation on Tuesday was launched in a forest near the Patnitop area after which the terrorists managed to cross into Assar.

Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar, GOC-in-C of Army’s Northern Command, had visited forward locations of Counter Insurgency Force (Delta) in Doda and Kishtwar on Tuesday to review the ongoing anti-terrorist operations being conducted in light of increased terrorist activity in the region.