This was a major miscalculation on the part of the state police, the officials said while piecing together the turn of events since February 23 when Singh, a Khalistan advocate, had stormed a police station in Ajnala of Amritsar district and secured the release of his aide Lovepreet Singh Toofan.

The surprising part was that seven of his personal security officers were youngsters, who had joined his drug de-addiction centre for rehabilitation, the officials said, adding that during their stay there for treatment they had been imparted training.

Officials said Papalpreet Singh is considered one of Amritpal Singh's mentors who had been advising him on various issues.

Captain Bhoopendra Singh was subjected to court martial after a Court of Inquiry and Summary of Evidence found that troops had "exceeded" powers vested under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, they said.

The charge sheet was committed to sessions court in Kathua which has fixed January 24 as the next date of hearing in the case.

'My fight for my son and against the misdeeds of the neighbouring country's army needs to be highlighted at the international fora'

The launchpads across the Line of Control in Kashmir valley are abuzz with activity, with around 60 to 80 terrorists, believed to be Afghan returnee mercenaries, receiving training with a possible push expected during summer months, officials in Srinagar said.

With terror groups misusing Aadhaar to camouflage the identity of their Pakistani cadres, the Jammu and Kashmir police will request the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to strengthen safety features of the biometric ID, officials have said.

The killing of a Rajput driver by a terrorist has generated a sense of fear and uncertainty among members of the tiny community in Kakran village in Kulgam district who have stayed on in Kashmir Valley despite decades of militancy but are now considering leaving for a safer place.

The phone could be in your hand but another person, possibly a militant or a sympathiser, could be using its 'hotspot' facility, say police officials, red-flagging the latest modus operandi of terrorists in Kashmir and warning unsuspecting civilians about the trouble they could land in.

The Army has initiated general court martial proceedings against a captain for the killing of three men in a staged encounter in Amshipura in south Kashmir in July 2020 after a Court of Inquiry found that troops had 'exceeded' powers vested under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, officials said in Srinagar on Sunday.

The students, who had to brave hunger and freezing temperatures amid a sense of uncertainty, heaved a sigh of relief when they crossed over to Poland. They now await their flight back home on Thursday.

"We realised no one is going to come to help us and it is up to us now," 20-year-old Ashna Pandita told PTI over the phone as the train took them to the western city of Ukraine, about 80 km from the Poland border, where the fighting has been relatively less.

The officials said the SSG will be "right-sized" by reducing the number of the elite force to the "bare minimum".

The chargesheet, filed by the State Investigation Agency, has highlighted several instances where parents were taken across the border using valid travel documents but were later compelled to pay extra money for their wards' admission to universities and colleges there.

The veteran politician, who has been chief minister of the erstwhile state three times as well as union minister, also said the time has come for the opposition parties to come together and fight the forces who are bent on destroying the secular fabric of the country.

Bengaluru's Namratha Nandish has trekked to 50 high altitudes lakes in Kashmir in one season to earn the sobriquet of 'Alpine Girl'.

Parvez, a resident of the downtown area in Khanyar, was 21 when he was rescued from Ankara, after his parents claimed he had been misguided by some people to join the terror ranks.

Security agencies on Tuesday identified the terrorists they believed were behind the civilian killings in Srinagar last week, and the attackers included their 25-year-old kingpin Basit Ahmed Dar, a resident of Kulgam in South Kashmir, officials said.

As a spate of targeted killings of minorities rock Kashmir, a Kashmiri Pandits' organisation on Friday said some employees from the community, who were provided government jobs under a rehabilitation package in 2010-11, have started moving to Jammu quietly fearing for their life, alleging the administration was unable to provide then a secure environment.