J&K infiltration bid foiled, one killed, 2 arrested

Jammu, April 9 (IANS) Alert army troops foiled an infiltration bid on the line of control (LoC) in J&K's Poonch district on early Sunday, killing one intruder and apprehending two others, defence officials said.

"On April 8, at approximately 10.15 p.m., own alert troops deployed on the LoC in the Poonch Sector observed a suspicious movement of a group (three individuals) close to the LoC.

"At around midnight the group, crossed the LoC and started infiltrating on to own side, Defence Ministry spokesman, Lt Colonel Devender Anand said.

"Own alert troops kept the movement of the infiltrating group under continuous observation. At approximately 2 a.m. today (Sunday) as the group approached the fence, the alert Indian Army troops deployed on the fence challenged the infiltrators.

"The intruders started to run away, were engaged by fire, in which one intruder was shot dead, while the other two managed to run into the jungle taking advantage of the thick foliage and rocky outcrop," he added.

The area was immediately cordoned to prevent their escape across the LoC, the spokesman said.

"Search operation was launched at first light wherein the dead body of one intruder was recovered at the encounter site. As the search progressed in the jungle, one intruder was apprehended alive in wounded condition.

"In the subsequent search the third intruder was also apprehended alive. In the search operation so far, three bags with fourteen packets of narcotics weighing approximately 17 kg, Pakistani currency, some documents, and eatables have been recovered," he said.

As per Lt Col Anand, during preliminary questioning, the two intruders apprehended alivee claimed that they (all three) are residents of Pakistan Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) and belong to Maidan Mohalla, village Chanjal.

"By their quick action, alert Indian Army troops have thus prevented a major infiltration bid of a Narco terror group which had the potential of disturbing the peace in Poonch & Rajouri districts through its nefarious designs.

"The Indian Army continues to remain alert on the Line of Control and is fully prepared to thwart any such attempts in the future too," he said.