Bullet-riddled bodies of two missing SPOs recovered in J&K's Kishtwar; terror ambush suspected as weapons go missing

The security forces retrieved the bodies of two Special Police Officers (SPOs) who had been killed, thus indicating that they had been attacked in a precisely planned ambush on Thursday morning. The names of the two SPOs have been released and they have been identified as Rashpal Kumar and Babi Chand, both of whom were part of the Special Operations Group (SOG) team in the Dachhan-Marwah area.

They had left Wednesday afternoon for Dharna top to exchange places with two of their colleagues.

After investigations were carried out by the authorities, their bodies were found around two kilometers from the place from where contact was lost by search teams.

Injuries on bodies: The preliminary results from post-mortem examinations state that one officer was killed with a gunshot wound to his head while the second officer was shot at the back of his body.

Missing weapons: Both the INSAS rifle and .303 Rifle along with both the officers were missing from the area from where they were found, which shows that the officers were robbed of their weapons and were killed.

Communication disruption: Locals have reported that the sound of gunfire was heard in the forest area at about 3:30 P.M. on Wednesday. Initially, the mobiles of the officers were operational, but suddenly they stopped working.

Joint search and wide operation in upper Kishtwar

After the body was detected, a joint team of Jammu & Kashmir Police, Indian Army 17 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) increased the search operations in the rugged hills of the Inderwal and Marwah ridges.    

The security agencies are taking the ambush seriously due to the thick forest cover and rough terrain, which has been used as a passage by militants before.

Entry lockout: The army has blocked all mountain passes and jungle routes from where the militants can flee.

Technical tracking: The intelligence team is analysing the network and the data from the mobile towers during the time of the incident.

Regional alertness: The ambush in Kishtwar took place within 24 hours of the incident in Kulgam, Kashmir, where the militants opened fire at the CRPF check post on the bike.

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