Won't let terrorists escape: Village defence guards assisting security forces track ultras in J&K's Doda

Doda (J&K): Dozens of Village Defence Guards (VDGs), armed with .303 rifles, are helping security forces in the Desa forest of Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district in their search for the terrorists who killed four soldiers on Monday night.

The VDGs have vowed not to let the terrorists escape the area, but say their slower bolt-action weapons must be replaced by more sophisticated automatic rifles to counter the heavily armed ultras.

"We have not slept for 14 hours," said Sudarshan Singh, a member of a VDG group patrolling the Gai and the Banda areas to hunt down the terrorists linked to the banned Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).

"They escaped (from the scene of the gunfight in Desa forest on Monday night) but for how long will they keep running, they will die as we are not going to allow them to escape," he told PTI.

The groups, earlier known as Village Defence Committees (VDCs), comprising 10-15 members, were formed in the Jammu region in 1995 to offer self-defence capabilities to villagers in view of terror threats.

Officials said between 10:45 pm Tuesday and 2 am Wednesday, security forces and terrorists engaged in gunfights at Kalaan Bhata and near Panchan Bhata, respectively, in the Desa forest area.

VDGs also opened fire on observing suspicious movement, while two explosive shells were recovered from the Gandoh area, they said.

Sudarshan Singh said they were getting inputs about the movement of terrorists for the past few days but could not ascertain their location. On Monday night, terrorists opened fire on a search party, killing the four soldiers, including a captain, the third major terror incident in the Jammu region of the Union Territory in three weeks.

"The terrorists are on the run and we will not allow them to leave this area alive," Sanjay Singh, another VDG member, said and added that VDGs will continue to fight terrorists with or without automatic weapons.

Sudarshan Singh said the .303 rifle is no match for an automatic weapon. "We know the topography of the area and need automatic weapons to counter terrorists who are equipped with the most sophisticated weapons like the US-made M4 carbine," he said.

"The government should frame a proper policy for us (VDGs). We want ex-servicemen, whether from the army, police or the paramilitary forces, to head our groups," Sudarshan Singh said.

In 2022, the policy for VDCs, which were headed by Special Police Officers (SPOs), was revamped by the Union home ministry and VDGs were introduced. In the VDC scheme only SPOs were paid but after 2022, all members of VDGs are being compensated financially by the government.

On the Doda attack, Ramesh Gopia, a local resident, said the presence of terrorists in the area after a gap of more than 17 years has caused a fear among the local populace.

"There was firing in the night as well but we feel secured because we have VDGs. In case of an attack, they can take on terrorists till the army and police come," he said, supporting the VDGs demand for better weapons.

Gopia said the VDGs were neglected with the normalisation of the militancy situation in the Jammu region but now the groups are being revived and "we are sure that the terrorists will not be allowed to gain a foothold in the forest areas".

VDGs came in focus following a series of attacks by terrorists in Rajouri, Poonch, Reasi, Udhampur, Kathua and Doda districts in the Jammu region this year that killed 22 people, including 11 security personnel and a VDG member. Five terrorists were also killed in two encounters in Kathua and Doda district last month.

According to the annual report of the home ministry for 2022-23, a total of 4,153 VDGs and 32,355 SPOs were engaged in Jammu and Kashmir in different responsibilities for the protection of civilians and anti-terrorists operations under the direct supervision of district superintendents of police or senior superintendents of police.