Hunt for terrorists intensified in J&K's Udhampur; soldier succumbs to injuries

Jammu, Sep 20 (PTI) A soldier, who was critically injured in a gunfight, succumbed to his injuries as security forces on Saturday extended a search operation to neutralise terrorists hiding in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district, officials said.

The soldier, Lance Dafadar Baldev Chand, was injured late on Friday evening, when the terrorists opened fire on a joint patrolling party of the Army and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police at Kanji in the Seoj Dhar forest, between the Dudu-Basantgarh area of Udhampur and Bhaderwah in Doda district, the officials said.

They said the soldier was shifted to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The area around the scene of the encounter was kept under tight cordon during the night and a combing operation was resumed on Saturday morning and extended to new areas during the day to track down the terrorists.

The officials said reinforcements were mobilised from both Doda and Udhampur and drones and sniffer dogs were also deployed to speed up the search operation.

However, there was no fresh contact with the terrorists during the day, they added.

The Army paid rich tributes to the fallen soldier and said "we stand with the bereaved family in this hour of grief".

"GOC (General Officer Commanding) of White Knight Corps and all ranks pay solemn tribute to Lance Dafadar Chand, who made the supreme sacrifice during an ongoing operation on the night of September 19 and 20," the Army said in a post on X. PTI TAS