Two Special Police Officers (SPOs) were found shot dead in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Thursday, a day after they went missing while travelling from their camp to an Army post in the remote Dachhan belt.
The bullet-riddled bodies of Babi Chand (57) and Rashpal Kumar (45), who were attached to the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the local police at Kiyar village, were recovered early Thursday, officials told news agency PTI. The two had gone missing on Wednesday while travelling to the Army post at Dharna-Marwah.
Their service weapons were missing, raising suspicions of a possible militant angle, officials said.
BJP MLA from Kishtwar Shagun Parihar on Thursday demanded a strong response over the killing of the two personnel, alleging Pakistan’s involvement. She also urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to ensure that those responsible were brought to justice.
“One body was found around 8 am, and the second was recovered around 9 am. It is deeply tragic. Pakistan continues to persist with its nefarious conspiracies,” Parihar said in a statement to news agency ANI. “We demand that, for these two lives, a response of fourfold magnitude be given.” She said she was leaving for the area.
The bodies were recovered a day after the two SPOs went missing while travelling from Kiyar camp to an Army post at Dharna-Marwah. Their service weapons were also missing, officials said, raising suspicions of a possible militant angle. The exact circumstances of their deaths are yet to be established.
The killings come amid continued counter-insurgency operations in Kishtwar, where security forces have been trying to track militants operating in remote, forested areas. The district has witnessed several terror-related incidents in recent years, with difficult terrain and extensive forest cover posing challenges to security operations.
Earlier, on October 16, an SPO, Bashir Ahmed, who had gone missing with his service rifle in Kishtwar, was found dead near his residence in Wanipora, Trigam. His rifle and a magazine were also recovered nearby.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)