A large tract of forest in Jammu’s Udhampur district has become the focus of a major security operation to hunt down militants who killed a policeman last week.

The militants descended on a village on Saturday in search of food and disappeared into the thick foliage.

Officials said the operation launched in the Majalta forests on Sunday was extended to a vast area, with security forces deploying drones and sniffer dogs to track down the militants.

The militants had melted into the dense forest after killing constable Amjid Ali Khan during an encounter at Soan village in Majalta on December 15, compelling the forces to withdraw. Police had received information about the movement of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants in the region.

An official said two heavily armed militants visited the house of Mangtu Ram in Chore Motu village on Saturday evening and asked for food. The villagers tipped off the security forces after the militants left the area.

“This time the joint search operation by police and paramilitary forces took place around 5km from where they had gunned down the cop,” an official said.

Militancy in Jammu’s 10 districts has emerged as a major challenge for the security forces, with the militants exploiting the mountainous terrain to their advantage.

On September 19, an army soldier was killed in an encounter with a group of heavily armed militants at Dudu Basantgarh in the upper reaches of Udhampur district. Efforts to track down the militants remained unsuccessful.

The operation in Udhampur comes at a time the security forces have intensified the anti-militancy drive across the international border and the Line of Control in Jammu following intelligence inputs about a possible infiltration attempt by militants amid
dense fog.

Officials said operations had been launched in Kathua, Samba, Jammu and Rajouri districts following inputs that Pakistan was stepping up infiltration.