Reinforcements were rushed to the spot, and the forest area was cordoned off. (PTI Photo)
Security forces and police on Sunday jointly launched a massive search operation after getting reports about the sighting of two “suspicious-looking people” in a village near the International Border in the Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Giving details, official sources said that a caretaker at an animal farm at Pangdour noticed movement of two unidentified individuals around 8.30 pm on Saturday and informed local police and security forces, prompting them to launch searches immediately.
While the suspects could not be traced in the area, a Special Operations Group of the Jammu and Kashmir Police later found that the individuals were moving towards the SIDCO forest around 1.30 am, officials said, adding that the SOG personnel challenged them, but they escaped to the nearby forests.
Reinforcements were rushed to the spot, and the forest area was cordoned off.
Searches at a large scale are in progress as of the latest reports received. The Border Security Force (BSF) has also joined the search operation, focusing on the Basantar nallah adjoining Pangdour, officials said. They added that additional checkpoints were set up at Khoon village to search vehicles plying on the route.
Security forces in J&K have stepped up efforts to crack down on militants following last year’s terrorist attack at Pahalgam, in which 25 tourists and a local were killed.
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