Indian Army troops on Friday exchanged fire with terrorists in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district during the early hours of Saturday, officials said, as a massive search operation is underway to trace out the ultras who fled the initial fire fight.
The operation came after a suspicious movement in the Bhatodi area. The alert sentry post of a temporary Army camp in Batod panchayat detected the movement of suspected terrorists at around 1:20 am and opened fire, the officials said.
They said the terrorists fired back and the intermittent exchange of fire continued between the two sides for nearly half an hour. However, there was no casualty on either side, the officials said, adding that the terrorists, believed to be three in number, fled into a nearby forest.
They said the Army troops have launched a cordon-and-search operation to track down the terrorists and further details are awaited.
Multi-tier security arrangements in Kashmir valley ahead of Republic Day
Security has been beefed up in Kashmir ahead of Republic Day to ensure smooth and peaceful celebrations in the valley, with police and other security personnel carrying out sanitisation and area domination exercises, officials said on Wednesday.
The main Republic Day function in Kashmir will be held at the Bakshi stadium here and security barricades have been erected at both the gates of the stadium in the north and the south side.
Police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in the city and other district headquarters while checkpoints have been established at various places in Srinagar, especially at the entry points of the city and other districts, the officials said.
Security forces were conducting random checking of vehicles and frisking of people to thwart the movement of subversive elements, they said.
The security around the venues of Republic Day functions in the valley, including the stadium here, has been beefed up, and a multi-layer security apparatus has been put in place around the venues, the officials said.
(With PTI inputs)