New Delhi: Two days after four army soldiers and a policeman were killed by suspected militants in Doda, fresh firing was reported in the district on Wednesday, July 17, involving the members of a state-backed militia that has been groomed to tackle militants in Jammu region.
The firing in Malan village of Doda took place as the mortal remains of two soldiers, who were killed in the Doda attack, were returned to their aggrieved families in Rajasthan.
A senior police officer said that the firing was reported less than two days after an army captain among five security personnel were killed by militants on Monday, July 15. The killings had forced the authorities to temporarily suspend an ongoing search operation in the district.
According to the officer, some members of the controversial Village Defence Guards (VDGs), which are on a high alert following Monday’s attack, noticed suspicious movement in the area and opened fire. It was not immediately known whether the suspects returned the fire.
However, there are no reports of any casualties or injuries in the incident.
The officer quoted above said that additional armed forces, including the army, have been rushed to the area to take on the militants who are believed to have taken cover in the densely forested areas of Jammu region.
Doda on Google Maps.
Since 2021, militants have carried out a series of deadly attacks in Jammu region that have resulted in an unusually high number of casualties in the armed forces.
The Peoples Anti Fascist Force (PAFF), who are suspected of being cadres of the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba groups, have claimed responsibility for some of these attacks.
Some of the attackers are believed to have recently infiltrated the union territory and are sheltered in the thick vegetation, dense forests and natural caves offered by the heights of Jammu’s Pir Panjal region and Chenab Valley.
In at least two recent skirmishes, security forces had to pay a high price after following up intelligence information about the presence of militants in forest areas of Pir Panjal region where militants had set a trap to ambush the incoming targets.
According to estimates, at least 51 security personnel have been killed in the twin regions since 2021 when the first major attack was carried out on armed forces in Poonch district on October 11.
The attack resulted in the death of a junior commissioned officer (JCO) among five army soldiers while the perpetrators managed to flee.
Jammu region, which was declared militancy-free before J&K’s bifurcation into two union territories, accounted for 40 percent of 199 casualties suffered by the armed forces in Jammu and Kashmir since 2021.
Meanwhile, amid a wave of firefights in Jammu division, the Himachal Road Transport Corporation has temporarily suspended a bus service on the Chamba-Doda route which started on July 2 and an alert was also sounded in Chamba district which shares a border of around 216 km with Doda district.
Abhishek Trivedi, additional director general of Himachal Pradesh police, said that they had received intelligence inputs following the attack in Doda, “We received inputs from various sources but can’t disclose these,” he told Indian Express.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Karan Singh expressed concern over the rising incidences of violence in Jammu.
”It is a matter of grave concern. For years, terrorists carried out attacks in the Kashmir valley. With great difficulty and courage, they were brought under control. Now, it seems that now they have started focusing on Jammu,” Singh said.
