Three terror splinter groups operating in Rajouri-Poonch, efforts on nuetralise them: Police

Admitting the presence of about three splinter terror groups in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior police officer said security forces are making efforts to neutralise them.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Rajouri-Poonch range, Haseeb Mughal said search and cordon operations in broader areas are taking place on almost daily basis to provide a sense of security among the people and to ensure they continue their normal activities without any fear.

On August 11, two suspected terrorists of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror outfit launched a pre-dawn suicide attack on an Army camp in Rajouri, marking the return of ‘fidayeen’ to Jammu and Kashmir after more than three years.

Both the terrorists were shot dead after an over four-hour gunbattle, while five soldiers were also killed in the incident.

"Police and other (security) agencies have prior information about movement of terrorists who took advantage of the natural camouflage in the shape of wild growth and vegetation, a normal phenomenon during monsoon...After that attack (on August 11), security was further heightened and an alert was sounded in view of the presence of two to three more splinter terrorist groups in the Pir Panjal region," the police officer said during an interaction on social networking site Facebook.

He said the terror groups are on the radar of security agencies and are being regularly followed to neutralise them as soon as possible.

"A contact was established with one such group (within a week of the first attack) but they slipped away taking advantage of inclement weather and darkness coupled with dense forest," Mughal said.

He said the security forces are jointly carrying out cordon and search operations in broader areas on a regular basis to provide a sense of security to the people so that they continue their normal activities like farming without any fear.

"The support structure for terrorists in both Rajouri and Poonch is almost negligible. People helped security forces to bust a number of terror modules in the recent past," Mughal said, appealing to the people to help security forces in maintaining peace in the region.

"Peace is prosperity...Whenever you find any suspicious movement or a suspicious object, immediately report to the concerned police station, control room or security establishment. We will ensure an immediate response," he said.

The senior police officer asserted that peace is not possible without the support of the people.

"They are stakeholders of peace and we can play our part, but they too have to play their active role," he said, adding police and security forces are always ready to extend their support to the people.

The DIG, also said police have set up an online grievance redressal system for public and police personnel to ensure that their problems are resolved on time.

"The major agenda of the government is to reach out to the people and mitigate their sufferings. We have taken this initiative as part of the agenda," he said, adding while the issues pertaining to police will be addressed by the department, those concerning the civil administration will be forwarded to the departments concerned.