A special forces commando injured on Sunday night during a hunt for militants in Jammu has died of his wounds, with hundreds of soldiers and policemen continuing to comb the area without success for the second day running.
Sources said eight soldiers, including the slain Havildar Gajendra Singh, were injured when the militants lobbed a grenade at them. Officially, the army has been tight-lipped about the number of injuries suffered.
The army’s Nagrota-based White Knight Corps on Monday confirmed Gajendra’s death in Operation Trashi I, under way in a pocket of Kishtwar district since Sunday. The security forces had received intelligence about the presence of two or three militants in the area.
"We honour his indomitable courage, valour and selfless devotion to duty and stand firmly with the bereaved family in this hour of profound grief," the White Knight Corps chief, Lieutenant General P.K. Mishra, said about Gajendra.
A post on X from the White Knight Corps said: "Operations under Operation Trashi-I continue in the general area of Son Nar, northeast of Chhatru. The cordon has been further tightened with search operations expanded. Troops of #WhiteKnightCorps, along with @jmukmrpolice and #CRPF, remain deployed to dominate the area."
Sources said the operation had been suspended during the night but a large, mountainous area stayed under cordon. The manhunt resumed early on Monday but the rugged terrain and thick vegetation remained a challenge, prompting the forces to tread cautiously.
Officials said they had busted what appeared to be a militant hideout deep in the forests. If confirmed, it would be a worrying development for the forces since the shelter was found well stocked with food alongside a gas cylinder, cooking kit and other kitchen utensils.
Neither the police nor the army has officially confirmed the discovery of a militant hideout.
The army is using high-tech drones and helicopters to try and track the militants. But the formidable cover provided by the vegetation and the terrain has allowed militants to escape the forces, while inflicting casualties on them, multiple times in recent years.
This is already the third encounter in the Jammu region this year, the previous two occurring in the Kahog and Najote forests in Kathua district on January 7 and 13.
December 15 was the last time militants had killed a policeman, in an encounter in Soan village of Udhampur district. The killers later vanished into the dense forests.