JAMMU: Alert Army troops successfully foiled a significant terrorist attack in the Khawas area of Budhal, Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday.
According to sources, one soldier was injured and hospitalized, though there has been no official confirmation yet.
The incident follows two high-level meetings chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi in Jammu on Saturday. These meetings reviewed the security situation in response to the recent surge in terrorist activities in the region.
Sources indicate that security forces initiated a cordon and search operation (CASO) in a village in the Budhal area after suspected terrorists opened fire at a security post early in the morning. “Two to three terrorists attempted to assault an Army post near the house of Parshotam Kumar, a Village Defence Guard (VDG) member in Gundha, a remote village of Rajouri district, around 03:10 hours. The fire was promptly retaliated by security personnel,” sources said.
Parshotam Kumar, who was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for his bravery several months ago, killed one terrorist and injured another during a previous encounter.
On July 5, President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Shaurya Chakra upon SgCt Saifullah Qadri (posthumously), DySP (now SP) Mohan Lal, SI Amit Raina, SI Feroz Ahmad, Constable Varun Singh of J&K Police, and Purshotum Kumar, a Village Defence Guard member, at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Additional reinforcements were quickly dispatched to the area, and a search operation has been launched to locate the hiding terrorists. This incident comes after another attempted terror attack on a Territorial Army (TA) battalion post in Galuti Patrara village of Manjakote, Rajouri district, on July 7. An Army sentry deployed at the post sustained injuries during the initial exchange of gunfire, which lasted for half an hour early Sunday morning.
The July 7 attack also occurred in the early hours, around 03:40 hours, when suspected terrorists fired at the sentry post of the TA base. The ongoing search operations aim to ensure the security and safety of the region considering these repeated attempts.
