Two J&K police officers found shot dead after going missing on duty in Kishtwar
Two police officers found shot dead in J&K’s Kishtwar. (Image courtesy: Widely shared pictures on x)
New Delhi: The bodies of two missing special police officers (SPOs) were recovered with bullet injuries in Jammu & Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Thursday, a day after they disappeared while travelling towards a security post. Their service rifles were missing, prompting suspicions of a terrorist attack and an intensified search across the remote Dachhan-Marwah belt.
The deceased were identified as Rashpal Kumar (45) and Babi Chand (57), attached to the special operations group (SOG) at Kiyar village in Dachhan.The two were travelling towards Dherna post to relieve personnel on duty when they went missing. Preliminary reports suggested they were on patrol duty alongside Army personnel, although the circumstances of the suspected attack remain under investigation.
Search teams recovered the bodies near Dherna Top on Thursday morning. NDTV reported that one officer had sustained a bullet wound to the head and the other to the back, but investigators had not established who fired the shots.
An INSAS rifle and a .303 rifle carried by the officers were missing. Their disappearance is a central concern for investigators because the weapons could be used in further attacks, although authorities have not confirmed who removed them.
Gunshots were heard in the surrounding forest on Wednesday afternoon, according to local accounts cited by NDTV. The personnel’s mobile phones initially rang but later became unreachable, prompting colleagues to raise the alarm.
Security forces intensify search operation
Police, Army and CRPF personnel cordoned off forested stretches around Kiyar and the route towards Dharna-Marwah. During the search, teams used drones to scan inaccessible terrain and sniffer dogs to assist ground personnel, PTI reported.
After the bodies were found, security forces intensified operations to identify and trace those responsible. No arrests or confirmed exchanges of fire with suspects had been reported by Thursday midday.
Kishtwar MLA, Shagun Parihar, condemned the killings and called for action against the perpetrators. She said the bodies had been recovered at around 8am and 9am, respectively, according to The Times of India.
Kishtwar’s continuing security challenges
Kishtwar’s steep, forested terrain has been a focus of prolonged counterterrorism operations. In February this year, security forces killed three Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists during an operation in Chatroo, following repeated searches in the area, the Indian Express reported.
The deaths also follow the October murder of SPO Bashir Ahmed in Kishtwar, but police linked that case to a suspected land dispute involving relatives, not terrorism. In the latest case, investigators must establish both the identity of the killers and the whereabouts of the missing rifles.
