Two Special Police Officers missing in Kishtwar after reported firing
A search operation is underway to locate two officers who disappeared with their weapons in a remote forest area.
Two Special Police Officers (SPOs), identified as 40-year-old Rashpal Kumar and 54-year-old Babbi Chand, went missing on Wednesday afternoon in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, according to The Indian Express and Hindustan Times.
The officers, who are residents of Dachhan, were returning from Kiyar Dachhan to relieve personnel at a 17 RR Temporary Operational Base in the Basnan area of Inderwal when they disappeared.
Gunshots were reported in the Deharna forest area between Kiyar and Derna during their movement. Officials noted that Kiyar is a shadow zone with poor mobile connectivity, and there was a disruption in the network in the area at the time.
The missing personnel had been deployed with the 17 RR at a post in Derna for area domination. One official stated that the trek from Derna through the dense forests of Kiyar to Dachhan is a nearly three-hour walk on foot.
An SOG party, the Army, the CRPF, and the Police have launched a search operation to trace the two officers and their weapons, though no clues have been found yet.
This incident occurred hours after suspected terrorists opened fire on a security checkpoint in the Akhran area of Kulgam district, injuring three CRPF personnel.