In a remarkable display of resilience and commitment to democracy, the residents of villages that had long been deprived of polling due to terrorist threats and separatist-sponsored boycott calls turned out in large numbers to cast ballots in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha polls on Saturday.
J&K: 2 IEDs defused, major tragedies averted
An officer and a jawan of the army were killed in a mysterious blast near a forward post along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, officials said.
The Indian Army retaliated effectively, injuring two Pakistani jawans, defence sources said.
The repeated skirmishes saw over 4,000 villagers from near borders to government camps at safer places in the district.
Army troops have scuttled an infiltration bid from across the border and shot dead a Pakistani intruder in Rajouri district along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
Advising security agencies for appropriate deployment in vulnerable areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Shah stressed that all due procedures should be adopted while conducting counter-terror operations.
Nine security force personnel were injured in the firing by the terrorists, they said adding five of them succumbed to injuries.
Security forces tightened their cordon around a forest area in the higher reaches of Doda district on Tuesday evening following an encounter with hiding terrorists, officials said.
Two Lashkar-e-Tayiba militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Rajouri district on Friday.Acting on a tip-off about the movement of militants in the Kanthole Gundi-Darrutelna area in Kalakote, 130 kms from Jammu, a police team assisted by Rashtriya Rifle and Central Reserve Police Force personnel launched a cordon operation.An encounter soon broke out at approximately 8.30 am, and two militants have been killed so far, said the police.
Two militants, including a close confidant of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, were arrested in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, official sources said.
Heavy security arrangements have been put in place, ahead of the twin public rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be held on Saturday in Kathua and Rajouri districts.
A Defence spokesman said the ultras opened heavy fire on search parties resulting in critical injuries to the JCO and four other personnel.
'We are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea'
The soldier, manning a forward post, was killed in the firing from across the border in Shahpur-Kerni area of Poonch sector, an Army official said.
A court in Jammu and Kashmir has sentenced a militant to death for killing five members of a family in Rajouri district of Jammu region in 2005.Principal Sessions Judge of Rajouri Subhash Chander Gupta passed the death sentence against Mohammad Younus alias Amir Khan for killing five members of a family in the Raj Nagar area of Rajouri on October 9, 2005.Younus and four other militants had entered the house of Munshi Ram and killed him, his brother, his two sons and nephew.
The three youths, Mohammad Imtiyaz and Ibrar Ahmed, residents of Kathuni mohalla of Dharsakri village of Rajouri, and Mohammad Ibrar, a resident of Tarkassi village of Rajouri, had left their homes on the pretext of working as labourers in Shopian and went out of contact with their families on July 17.
He said that the army has tried to neutralise foreign terrorists along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch.
Several deaths were reported across the country due to rain-related incidents like lightning strikes and drowning.
The operation to track down a group of hiding terrorists, who are responsible for the killing of nine soldiers, in Bhatti Durrian forest in Mendhar along with Surankote forest in Poonch and nearby Thanamandi in Rajouri district entered the 21st day on Sunday, the officials said.
There was suspected movement along the Line of Control (LOC) in forward belt of Keri area in Rajouri sector and a Patrol party was launched in the area immediately on Tuesday, a senior Army official said.
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.
A 67-year-old resident, Mangat Ram and a BSF jawan was injured in the firing.
Two boys were seriously injured when an improvised explosive device hidden by militants near a stream went off.
Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice overnight by pounding civilian hamlets and Indian forward posts with 120 mm and 82 mm mortar bombs along the LoC in Poonch district, drawing retaliation from the Army.
'Everyone is unhappy with the lieutenant governor's administration, which is ignorant, high-handed, and inaccessible.'
The drone was spotted at Bachiwind village near the international border at 3.21 am on Saturday.
Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Gopal Sharma had said recently that 1200 fully armed militants were still active in the state even though the number of violent incidents had come down.
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
A doctor couple in Rajouri have been questioned by security agencies in connection with the sensational espionage case involving an Indian diplomat, who was arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan.
Acting on a tip-off that some terrorists were hiding in Rajdhani forest belt at Thanamandi, troops of Rashtriya Rifles and police launched a cordon-and-search operation in the area. In the ensusing gunfight, two ultras were killed and a police constable was wounded, said SSP (Rajouri) R K Jalla who supervised the operation.
Rifleman Vinod Singh and Rifleman Jaki Sharma were grievously injured in the firing and later succumbed to their injuries, the spokesman said.
Security forces on Tuesday extended the search operation to adjoining villages to track down a terrorist who managed to escape from a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district, officials said.
The militant, identified as Abdul Rehman, was killed in an encounter at Manyal in Rajouri district last night.
The announcement was made by the state Director General of Police Kuldeep Khuda during his visit to the Rajouri district of Jammu region.
Five persons were injured in clashes with the police while protesting over the incident in the town on Wednesday.
A woman was killed and nine others, including two army jawans, were injured when militants fired at a passenger bus during an attack on an army convoy in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday morning.
Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP accused National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah of leaving them "no option".
Pakistan troops also fired on forward posts and civilian areas last night in Rajouri.
Pakistan has been resorting to heavy mortar shelling along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir for the past over one month.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances