Suspected militants spotted in Rajouri, Jammu ahead of poll

Jammu: With less then 24 hours left for polling on Jammu-Poonch parliamentary seat, security forces in Jammu have launched a massive search operation in Rajouri town, 160 kilometers from winter capital Jammu, to nab some suspected militants apparently roaming around in a vehicle.

The police and paramilitary forces are looking for some suspects who seemingly “looked like militants” and were making rounds of the Rajouri town, police said. The security on the Rajouri-Jammu highway has also been beefed up.

The police is checking every vehicle and all the entry and exit points of the town are sealed. On Thursday, people of Jammua and Poonch areas will cast their votes for the 16th Lok Sabha.

Apart from personnel of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, 39 companies of the paramilitary forces have also been deployed to provide security to the 7,000-strong staff in 2,271 polling booths. Authorities identified 52 polling station on International Border as sensitive which could be shifted to other areas if an untoward incident happens on the border.

On Tuesday, five people were killed and four injured in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district during an encounter between security forces and the militants. The encounter took place in Zoonarewshi area of district Kupwara near the Line of Control (LoC) in which two policemen, one Army personnel and two militants were killed.

The gunfight started when acting on a specific information about the presence of militants, a joint operation was launched by Army and police late on Monday evening.

The militants also shot and critically injured a policeman in South Kashmir’s Anantnag town on Tuesday. A police spokesman said the incident happened at Lal Chowk area in Anantnag town, which was later, cordoned off to nab the attackers.