Op Garol: Based on specific intelligence on the presence of terrorists a Joint Operation was launched by Indian Army & Jammu and Kashmir Police on the intervening night of 12-13 Sep in Area Garol, Anantnag. Contact was established and a firefight ensued. Two Army personnel and one J&K Police personnel were injured.
Two decorated army officers — a colonel and a major — and a deputy superintendent of police were killed on Wednesday in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, with a burst of gunfire ending the valley’s relative calm, officials familiar with the matter said.
OP Garol: Joint Operation Launched
Colonel Manpreet Singh, the commanding officer of the 19 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Aashish Dhonchak, also from the same battalion, and DSP Humayun Muzamil Bhat, who was just posted to the area, were among the officers killed in action, sources said on condition of anonymity.
The last time a commanding officer was killed in action in Jammu and Kashmir was three years ago when Colonel Ashutosh Sharma (together with Major Anuj Sood, two army jawans, and a sub-inspector) was assassinated by terrorists in the Handwara area of Kashmir.
The Army and Police launched a joint operation on Tuesday night after obtaining intelligence regarding terrorist activity and possible hiding in Anantnag’s Garol, a forested area. According to one of the sources described above, the combat-ready teams of counterterror specialists came under heavy automatic fire as they closed in on an undefined number of well-trained terrorists, resulting in serious casualties to the cops.
The three men died as a result of their injuries at the army base hospital in Srinagar. The potential of anti-terror units being enticed into the region has not been ruled out, officials said, adding that the attack was carried out by a gang of up to four terrorists.
Singh and Dhonchak were both Soldiers of the Sikh Light Infantry, had earned their spurs in the valley, and had received the Sena Medal for their bravery in counter-terrorism operations. While Singh, then a lieutenant colonel in the same battalion, received the medal on Independence Day 2021, Dhonchak’s gallantry was recognised just a few weeks ago, on August 15.
It is not uncommon for counter-terrorism commanding officers to direct operations from the ground. Several of them were killed in action while leading their soldiers from the front and keeping them out of harm’s way in Jammu & Kashmir. After the three cops were injured, the army and police sent reinforcements to the encounter location in Anantnag’s Kokernag woodland belt, and the entire region was shut off, according to a second official.
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