CRPF Inspector Killed In Udhampur As Jammu Region Targeted Again

It is said to be a coordinated attack on the soldiers of the CRPF and Special Operations Group of the local police.

Jammu: In yet another terrorist attack in the Jammu region of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) inspector was killed when terrorists opened fire on a patrol party in Udhampur district on Monday.

It is said to be a coordinated attack on the soldiers of the CRPF and Special Operations Group (SOG) of the local police who were attacked by terrorists around 3:30 pm in the remote Dudu area of Basantgarh, officials said.

Inspector Kuldeep Kumar from the CRPF’s 187th battalion was struck by a bullet and subsequently died from his injuries en route to the hospital, officials reported. A police spokesperson stated that during an area domination patrol in Dudu’s Chill village, there was an exchange of fire between terrorists and combined forces of the police and CRPF.

“In the encounter, one inspector of CRPF suffered bullet injuries and has attained martyrdom. (The anti-terrorist) operation continues,” he said.

His mortal remains were being brought to district headquarters for post-mortem.

The terrorists fled the scene after a strong retaliation by the joint patrolling party, they said, adding reinforcements have been rushed to the area and a search operation has been launched to track down and neutralise the militants.

The Basantgarh forest area has experienced several terrorist incidents since April, beginning with the death of a village defence guard in a clash with terrorists. This marked the first event of its kind in nearly twenty years and was perceived by security agencies as an effort by Pakistani operatives to rekindle terrorism in the Jammu region.

This event occurred just five days following a confrontation in the Doda district, which led to the deaths of both an army captain and a heavily armed terrorist.

The most recent fatality brings the total number of terror-related deaths in Jammu and Kashmir this year to 74, including 21 security personnel and 35 terrorists.

Of these, Jammu region’s six districts, Doda, Kathua, Reasi, Poonch, and Rajouri districts, accounted for 30 deaths including 14 security personnel and six terrorists.

(With PTI inputs)