Security forces killed two suspected militants on Saturday in what they called “Operation Pimple” while police raided key jails and began a hunt for militants’ associates and sympathisers in a Valley-wide drive against insurgency.
The operations reflect how militancy remains a challenge six years after the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
An infiltration bid was foiled in the Keran sector of Kupwara “based on specific intelligence input”, and two unidentified militants were killed, the army said.
The sneak-in attempt appears part of an effort by cross-border handlers to push as many militants into Kashmir as they can before the snow seals the borders.
Officials said troops had detected suspicious movement near the Line of Control late on Friday night and challenged the infiltrators, who fired at them.
“Two terrorists have been neutralised by the security forces in the ongoing operation,” the army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said on X.
Asked why the name “Pimple” was chosen, an army officer said operations were routinely given arbitrary labels, often on the basis of the names of some or other locality in the area.
On October 14, two infiltrators were killed in the Machil sector of Kupwara.
While the LoC operation was underway, a police agency, Counter-Intelligence Kashmir (CIK), raided the Central Jail in Srinagar and the Kupwara district jail.
An officer who participated in the Srinagar operation said the police had specific intelligence that mobile SIMs had been sneaked into the jail to help militants connect with people in Pakistan.
“The raid started at 7am and continued till 11am. We searched everything but found nothing. It looks like somebody had tipped the inmates off and they had concealed the SIMs,” the officer said, requesting anonymity.
The CIK had in the past carried out similar raids on several jails to detect possible subversive networks and prevent the misuse of communication devices.
Separately, the police launched simultaneous crackdowns in Kulgam and Sopore, with army and central forces help, to dismantle “terror networks and subversive ecosystems”.
Officials said the operations were focused on “overground workers” and individuals linked to militant handlers operating from Pakistan and PoK.
“During the operation, a number of relatives and associates of active J&K nationals operating from Pak or PoK were booked under relevant provisions of law for their continued involvement in anti-national activities, including logistical support, propaganda circulation, and aiding recruitment,” the police said.
“Digital devices and incriminating materials were also seized during the raids.”
A significant number of suspected overground workers and militant sympathisers have been detained for questioning in Sopore, the police said.
“These individuals are being thoroughly interrogated to trace their linkages, financial conduits, and communication channels with handlers based in Pakistan,” the police said.
Officials said the crackdown was a preventive one, aimed at protecting the youth from extremist influence, and would continue.
The State Investigating Agency, another police intelligence wing, on Saturday filed a chargesheet in the Srinagar NIA court against seven suspects, including a Pakistan-based militant handler, in a narco-terror case.
The case was registered on January 6 after the security forces recovered over 9kg of heroin from a vehicle near Parimpora.
Among the accused is Mushtaq Ahmad Khan alias Khalid Bhai, a key operative of the Pakistan-based Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen who is believed to be running the narco-terror module. Originally from Kupwara, he is in Pakistan.
The other six named in the chargesheet are Kupwara residents Anas Aijaz, Zahid Ahmad Sheikh, Tanzeer Ahmad Najar and Bilal Shabir Awan (absconding), and Srinagar residents Basit Ashraf Malik and Arsalan Mushtaq Bangri.