Srinagar: The soldier who was critically injured in a gunfight with terrorists in the Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday evening, passed away at a hospital on Saturday.
The encounter started after the Army and police launched a massive joint search operation in the higher reaches of the region on Saturday, an official said.
Terrorists opened fire on a joint team of the Army and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police at the Seoj Dhar forest border in the Dudu-Basantgarh area, which connects Udhampur with Bhaderwah in Doda.
The soldier was injured and evacuated to the hospital. He did not survive despite best efforts by doctors.
Security forces have cordoned off the area and joint search operations resumed on Saturday morning. Officials suspect that 2-3 terrorists are holed up in the area. Additional forces have been sent to the area.
“Drones and sniffer dogs have also been put into service from both the Udhampur and Doda sides. This is very difficult terrain. No fresh contact has been made with the terrorists,” an official said.
This is a crucial time of the year when terrorists from Pakistan or Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir cross the border or Line of Control (LOC) before winter sets in and the routes get blocked.
Meanwhile, the two Assam Rifles personnel killed in Friday evening’s ambush in the Bishnupur district of Manipur have been identified as Naib Subedar Shyam Gurung (59) of Meghalaya and Rifleman Ranjeet Singh Kashyap (36) of Chhattisgarh.
The convoy, comprising a unit of the 33 Assam Rifles, was ambushed by unidentified terrorists on the highway at an AFSPA denotified zone, the Ministry of Defence said. Five soldiers were injured in the attack. A search operation is underway.
