Northern Commander reviews Chenab Valley Ops

Rajouri, Aug 13: General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Northern Command, Lt Gen M V Suchindra Kumar visited Chenab Valley on Tuesday and reviewed the security situation in the region following a series of terror incidents in Doda and Kishtwar.

“Lt Gen M V Suchindra Kumar visited forward locations of Counter Insurgency Force (Delta) in Doda and Kishtwar area to review the ongoing anti-terrorist operations being conducted in light of increased terrorist activity in the region,” the Northern Command said on its X-post page.

The Northern Commander also reviewed the options for the deployment of additional forces in the area to expedite the ongoing operations.

The Army said that the visit was conducted in light of the increased terrorist activity in the region.

“The Northern Commander also assessed the options for deployment of additional forces being inducted into the area,” the Army said.

It said that the Northern Commander also emphasised on synergy between J&K Police and paramilitary forces.

“The Northern Army Commander exhorted all ranks to maintain a high tempo of operations, ensuring security and safety for ongoing and upcoming events,” the Army said.

For the last two months, the hilly districts of the Jammu division including Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal region have witnessed hit-and-run attacks by terrorists in Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kathua, Reasi and Udhampur districts.

Massive searches are on in the area to hunt down the terrorists.

An encounter broke out four days back between the security forces and the terrorists in the Gandole Ahlan area of Kokernag in which two soldiers and one civilian were killed following which search operations have been extended to the Kishtwar-Doda axis which is connected with Kokernag through mountain passes.

After reports of 40-50 hardcore foreign mercenaries operating in the hilly districts of Jammu division, the Army deployed over 4000 highly-trained soldiers, including elite Para commandos and those trained in mountain warfare, in the mountainous areas of Jammu division.

The tactics adopted by the terrorists have been to carry out surprise ambush attacks and then disappear into the densely forested areas.

To defeat the tactics of the terrorists, the Army and paramilitary CRPF have been deployed on mountain tops of these districts.

The J&K Police have released the sketches of some terrorists active in these areas.

A reward of Rs 5 lakh each has been announced for anyone giving actionable information about the presence of these terrorists.

Police also said that the identity of the informer will be kept secret and there should be no fear in the minds of the people willing to volunteer information.