The gunfight broke out when a joint security party of the Army and police, acting on a tip-off, launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Naidgham area in the Chhatroo belt, they added.
They said the encounter happened after the police launched a cordon and search operation in Khandipora area of the south Kashmir district following a specific input about the presence of terrorists there.
Terror outfits in Jammu and Kashmir are now constructing elaborately-designed underground bunkers deep inside thick forests and elevated ridges instead of taking shelter in local houses, officials said. This tactical shift, fuelled by eroding local support, presents a new challenge to the Army and other security forces.
Security forces on Sunday intensified their operation to flush out terrorists from the forest area of Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on the second day of encounter that has left two soldiers and a civilian dead.
When I asked UAE Skipper Muhammad Waseem why his team did not appeal for a walkover, he said his team had come to play, and that they had decided to wait as per the request from the authorities. Would any Test-playing country have waited and remained sporting enough to sacrifice their opportunity to play in the knock-out stage?
Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad's son Asad, wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case, was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh police in Jhansi on Thursday, officials said.
If women voters are mobilised in big numbers to the voting booths on November 6 and 11 by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA, then it will be quite difficult for the Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan to defeat the incumbent government, points out Sheela Bhatt.
At least four terrorists were killed and two soldiers laid down their lives in twin encounters in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, officials said.
The Maharaja Trophy, the state's top franchise-based T20 tournament, was also moved outside Bengaluru as police had rejected KSCA's proposal to host it behind closed doors. The tournament was played in Mysore behind closed doors.
A commander of the banned CPI (Maoist) was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand's Palamu district. Another red rebel, carrying a bounty of Rs 15 lakh, was injured in the encounter. Several weapons, including a self-loading rifle, were recovered during the search operation following the gunfight.
This was the first encounter between terrorists and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir in more than three months.
The encounter took place in Pujari Kanker forest along the interstate border when a team of Greyhounds, Telangana's elite anti-Maoist force, was out on an operation, he said.
Punjab Police have arrested five people, including the mastermind, in connection with recent grenade attacks on police stations in the state. The terror module is allegedly backed by the banned Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The arrests come after a series of grenade attacks on police stations in Punjab, with the BKI claiming responsibility for some of the attacks. The police are continuing to investigate the incidents and are expecting more arrests.
Security agencies have gathered evidence, including Pakistani government documents and biometric data, confirming that the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack were Pakistani nationals.
The CBI has taken over the investigation into the alleged assault of a colonel by Punjab Police personnel, registering two separate FIRs. The incident allegedly occurred at a roadside dhaba in Patiala.
The encounter broke out when a joint search party of the army and police launched a search operation, based on a specific intelligence, in remote Bihali area of Basantgarh in the district this morning. Reinforcements have been rushed in and a massive search operation is going on despite bad weather.
The proscribed ULFA(I) claimed drone and missile attacks on its camps along the Myanmar border by the Indian Army, resulting in casualties. The Indian Army has not confirmed the incident. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma denied state police involvement.
Home Minister Amit Shah stated in the Rajya Sabha that the terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack were killed in Operation Mahadev. He also criticized the Congress party's stance on national security.
Three security personnel suffered injuries in the fierce gun-battle and a large quantity of weapons was also recovered from the spot, the state police said.
The encounter broke out after the terrorists opened fire at the search party personnel, who retaliated, the officials said.
Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, the powerful general secretary of Communist Party of India-Maoist killed in an encounter along with 26 others on Wednesday, had masterminded several major attacks on security forces in Chhattisgarh and his death is a big blow to the armed movement, said officials.
'With tears in his eyes, he told me in Gujarati, "What have they done to this country? It has so much potential." That feeling for the country -- it was striking.'
An official said Akshay Shinde, who worked as a cleaner at the school, was being taken to Badlapur from Taloja jail for investigation.
The BJP has accused the Congress party of fabricating the theory of 'Hindu terror' to undermine Narendra Modi and appease Muslim voters. This statement follows the acquittal of seven individuals in the Malegaon blast case. The BJP demands compensation for the acquitted and an apology from the prosecution.
One of the slain Maoists was identified as DVCM Laxman Atram alias Vishal Atram, incharge of Tipagad Dalam.
Security forces on Saturday extended the ongoing search operation to new areas after the body of the fourth policeman and two slain terrorists were recovered from the scene of a gunfight in a remote forested area in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
The troops of 209 Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) conducted the operation in which eight Naxals were killed and an AK series rifle, three INSAS rifles, a self-loading rifle (SLR), eight country-made guns and a pistol were seized, the officials said.
The Gujarat government told the Supreme Court on Thursday that the petitioners who have sought a probe into the alleged fake encounters in the state from 2002 to 2006 need to explain the reasons for their "selective public interest" in raising the issue.
Due to the success of the operation, the entire Korchi-Tipagad and Chatgaon-Kasansur Dalams of Maoists have been wiped out, they claimed.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Babina MLA Rajeev Singh on Thursday clarified his stand on the May 19 incident aboard the Vande Bharat Express, stating that a 'misunderstanding' with fellow passengers escalated unnecessarily and that the altercation by his supporters in Jhansi was 'unfortunate and unintended'.
Six alleged gold smugglers, who arrived from Dubai, were rescued after they were abducted by a gang impersonating as customs officers. The smugglers had ingested a total of 29 gold capsules, weighing around 950 grams. Two of the kidnappers were injured and arrested after a police encounter.
Police are examining the past records of the arrested men in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case and a related case of extortion to decide if the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) should be invoked, sources said on Thursday. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he had requested senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam to appear as a special prosecutor in the murder case. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) has sought old case papers and chargesheets against the arrested men. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, was abducted and brutally killed on December 9, allegedly for opposing an extortion bid by some persons who had demanded money from a windmill company. Beed Police has put up posters seeking information about whereabouts of three wanted accused in the murder case. CM Fadnavis said he spoke to BJP MLA from Beed, Suresh Dhas who demanded that Nikam be appointed as special public prosecutor in the case. Nikam was a special public prosecutor in several high-profile cases, including the 26/11 terror attacks and 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar claimed that "smaller fish" could be killed in fake encounters to save the "big fish" involved in the Deshmukh murder and extortion cases. Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative council Ambadas Danve said the trial in the case should be conducted outside Beed district. NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, who has come under fire after the alleged involvement of his aide Karad in the extortion matter came to light, said those who murdered Santosh Deshmukh should be tried in a fast-track court and "hanged till death." The government on Wednesday set up a 10-member SIT to probe the case, headed by Deputy Inspector General -CID Basavraj Teli.
Officials said one more terrorist is believed to be trapped in the operation area at Khandara top and efforts are on to neutralize him.
According to Khemka's family members, his son was also shot dead by criminals six years ago in Hajipur.
Six Naxalites, including "deputy commander" Punem Nagesh, his wife, and another female cadre, were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Wednesday, a police officer said.
The Indian Army has neutralized a terrorist in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir during an encounter with security forces. The Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar commended the troops for their swift action and reiterated the army's commitment to keeping the region terror-free.
The Udhampur-based northern command is committed to eliminate the scourge of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the Army said on Tuesday, as it paid tribute to four soldiers who died in a gunfight with heavily armed terrorists in Doda district.
Security forces have intensified search operations using aerial surveillance and sniffer dogs following a night-long cordon after fresh reports of suspected movement of three individuals in Panjtirthi area of Kathua.
Devotees who were already on the staircase route to the popular hilltop temple in Haridwar before the route could be shut, however, encountered a stampede that killed six people and left 28 injured, after a rumour of an electric current leak triggered panic.
Seven accused army personnel, including a major general and two colonels, escaped from any punishment even though a military court initially and a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry found they were involved in the alleged crime.
