SRINAGAR:Forty hours after a Pakistani militant was arrested and another killed for attacking a BSF convoy on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, militants loaded a second attack on a police post in Udhampur late on Thursday, injuring a policeman.
“A group of two to four militants fired on a police post located on a hill in the dense forest area of Basantgarh in Udhampur district around 9.30 pm on Thursday,” police said. They said policemen returned the fire, triggering an encounter.
“In the ensuing gunfight, Special Police Officer Gul Mohammed sustained bullet injuries,” sources said, adding that the police, Army and paramilitary personnel rushed to the police post to take on the militants. By the time reinforcements reached the post, militants had retreated deep into the forest.
Gul Mohammed was evacuated in an Army helicopter to a hospital in Jammu.
“Security forces have launched a massive search operation in the forest to track down the militants,” sources said.
Basantgarh, which connects with neighbouring mountainous Bhaderwah and Doda districts, is about 55 km from Samroli in Udhampur, where two LeT militants Mohammad Naved and Noman attacked a BSF convoy on Wednesday.
A senior police officer said they were checking whether the militants involved in twin attacks in Udhampur have mutual links. “We apprehend they may be part of the same LeT module and may have split before the early morning attack on BSF convoy on August 5,” he said.
He said a massive combing and search operation has been launched by the Army, police, BSF and other paramilitary forces in the Basantgarh forest area.