Over 150 over-ground workers active in J-K's Kishtwar, say cops

Jammu, Jan 1 (PTI) More than 150 over-ground workers (OGWs) of terror outfits are operating in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, police said on Thursday.

They also said that over 1,500 cordon and search operations (CASOs) were undertaken in the district in 2025 as part of the anti-terror campaign.

“Over 151 OGWs are operating in Kishtwar district. So far, 24 OGWs have been arrested and sent to jail. The OGW networks are being continuously monitored,” Kishtwar Senior Superintendent of Police Naresh Singh told reporters.

He said preventive action was taken against 97 people during the year.

“These actions significantly weakened the logistical, financial and intelligence networks that provide support to terrorist activities in the region,” he said.

The SSP said anti-terrorist operations in the district are a continuous process against such networks. “So far, five encounters have taken place with local and foreign terrorists in the district. Over 1,500 CASOs had been undertaken,” he said.

He said operations are ongoing, with deployment across most of the hilly areas as part of the security setup.

Singh said 36 people involved in terrorism fled to Pakistan and properties of 18 such persons were seized. “The process to seal the properties of others is in progress,” he added.

He said the police remained at the forefront of anti-militancy operations and successfully conducted six major counter-terror operations in the district.

“These intelligence-based and terrain-specific operations led to the neutralisation of three foreign terrorists, dealing a major blow to attempts by terror outfits to revive their presence in the difficult and sensitive areas of Kishtwar,” he said.

The police also recorded a marked improvement in overall crime disposal. Of 394 cases registered in 2025, 369 were disposed of, achieving a disposal rate of 93.65 per cent compared to 86.98 per cent in 2024, the SSP said.

To strengthen surveillance and preventive policing, the district expanded its CCTV network to 1,831 cameras, with 389 new cameras installed during 2025, he said. PTI AB KVK KVK