Nagrota gunfight: Police version

Jammu: Inspector General of Police, Jammu range, Mukesh Singh, on Thursday said that a newly infiltrated group of four militants were killed at Ban Toll Plaza near Nagrota on Srinagar-Jammu highway after a truck in which they were travelling was intercepted at a checkpoint.

He said the truck driver managed to flee from the spot while government forces recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition including 11 AK-47 rifles and 29 grenades.

Addressing a press conference, IGP Jammu Mukesh Singh said that ever since the announcement for the District Development Council (DDC), police had been receiving inputs about a possible infiltration bid in Jammu.

“We had kept our all teams deployed at naka points. There were intelligence inputs that militants may sneak in along with a large quantity of arms and ammunition,” Singh said.

He said at around 5:00 AM, a truck was stopped and while it was being searched, the driver stepped out and fled. “During the search of the vehicle, the hiding militants opened a heavy volume of fire that was retaliated. The encounter lasted for three hours. Two policemen sustained injuries and both are stable,” he said.

The IGP Jammu said that four unidentified militants were killed in the gunfight. “All the slain were carrying a large quantity of arms and ammunition with them.

“This is for the first time in the past few years that such a large quantity of weapons was recovered from the slain — 11 AK rifles, 29 grenades (apart from those lobbed at forces), three pistols, pouches, mobile phones and other incriminating material,” IGP Singh said.

Asked about the motive of militants, he said that given the quantity of weapons recovered from the slain, it seems that the group had infiltrated recently and were “planning something very big. But their plan stands foiled”.

He said the operation was carried out jointly by police, CRPF and the army.

The sanitization operation is still on and identity and the affiliation of slain militants is being ascertained, he said. KNO