Massive operation underway to track down Gagangeer attackers

Srinagar, Oct 21: Security forces on Monday launched an extensive search operation to hunt down the militants responsible for the brutal killing of seven workers, including a prominent Kashmiri doctor, near Gagangeer in the Ganderbal district of central Kashmir.

The attack, which took place Sunday evening, targeted employees of an infrastructure company working on the strategic Z-Morh tunnel along the Srinagar-Leh highway, a project crucial for connecting Ladakh to the rest of India via an all-weather road.

Senior Police officers are camped in the area and are monitoring operation against the attackers. Last evening J&K DGP Nalin Prabhat, ADGP Law and Order Vijay Kumar, Inspector General of Police, V K Birdi visited the spot to asses the situation.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that two terrorists carried out attack by opening indiscriminate fire inside the campsite,” a senior police officer told Greater Kashmir. “We talked to injured and others – the number was terrorists who carried out were two.”

“Terrorists have used AK-47 and massive hunt in adjoing areas is underway,” he said adding that drones and sniffer dogs have been deployed to comb through the dense forests and mountainous terrain surrounding the site of the attack.

“Samples from the incident site have been collected by different agencies,” he said adding that so far there are no directions of probe of incident by another agency/agencies. “We are investigating till now.”

Top security officials, along with a team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA), have reached Ganderbal to supervise the search and investigation.

The officer said that militants opened indiscriminate fire on the workers’ camp, killing seven and injuring five others. Among the deceased were two from Jammu and Kashmir, including Dr Shahnawaz Dar, a highly respected local doctor, and laborers from Bihar, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh.

Soon after the attack, security forces — comprising the police, army, and paramilitary forces — cordoned off the area and initiated a joint operation to track down the militants, suspected to be in a group of two or three.

According to officials, the attack occurred at around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, targeting the camp set up by APCO Infratech, the infrastructure company constructing the Z-Morh tunnel. The workers were returning to the camp after a day’s work when the militants, armed with automatic weapons, ambushed the site and opened fire.

Eyewitnesses said hearing gunshots and screams, but the attackers had fled the scene before security forces could respond. The Z-Morh tunnel is part of a larger project aimed at improving connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh, and its completion is seen as critical for the economic and strategic development of J&K.

The attack has also raised concerns about the security of infrastructure workers in the region, especially those working on high-profile projects like the Z-Morh tunnel. Security forces have now increased patrols and surveillance in vulnerable areas, but the attack has left many workers feeling vulnerable.