Search on in Bandipora forests for 4th day

The combing operation in the Bandipora forests continued for the fourth consecutive day today.

A soldier of the counter-insurgency unit of the Army was killed in the Bandipora forests on Tuesday evening.

The police said the troops of the 14 Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles, Special Forces and the Special Operations Group of the J&K Police were carrying out searches in the dense Boothu forests of Bandipora since Tuesday to track a group of militants, which was intercepted by them.

“On Tuesday, we had two contacts with the militants — one in the morning and another in the evening — and since then there was no contact with them,” said a police officer in north Kashmir.

“Security forces are jointly carrying out searches in the vast forest area,” the police officer added. On Tuesday evening, Sepoy Samod Kumar was killed in the Boothu forests, close to Bandipore town, when militants fired at a search party.

The troops are also carrying out searches in areas close to the Boothu forests.

Meanwhile, the Army today paid tributes to Sepoy Samod Kumar at the Srinagar-based 15 Corps headquarters.

“Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen Satish Dua saluted the valour and sacrifice of Sepoy Samod Kumar by laying a wreath on behalf of all ranks of the Corps. As a mark of honour and pride for the brave soldier, floral tributes were paid on behalf of the Northern Command chief,” a defence spokesman said.