Troops launch massive search operation in South Kashmir
Government forces today launched a massive cordon and search operation in South Kashmir’s Shopian district, reports said.
According to the reports, a joint team of 62 RR of Army, 14th Bn of CRPF and SOG of Jammu and Kashmir police launched the operation in around ten villages which include Chakora, Mantribug, Zaipora, Pratabpora, Takipora, Ranipora, Ratnipora, Dangam and Wangam villages.
A senior security official said that the cordon and search operation was launched to nab the militants hiding in the area.
Earlier, another cordon and search operation was launched in DK pora village of Shopian district. However, the siege was lifted after forces traced no militant hiding in the area.
Witnesses said that troops entered into the house in these localities and conducted through searches. The troops also enquired about the residents and questioned several youth in the area.
Meanwhile, the cordon and search operation ended peacefully at around 2 PM in the afternoon after no contact was established with the militants.
Notably, cordon and search operation which was abandoned in 2002 after widespread public resentment was restarted by the security agencies in early May after they laid siege in around 25 villages of south Kashmir.
According to some media reports quoting Army sources, CASO will be carried out in a major way in militancy-hit areas of Kulgam, Pulwama, Tral, Budgam, and Shopian in South Kashmir during the coming weeks.
“CASO will be a permanent feature as part of counter-terror operations after a gap of 15 years,” a news gathering agency quoted an Army source.
According to the experts, on May 04, the Army launched a massive cordon and search operation in South Kashmir’s Shopian district in order to instill fear among the civilian who they believe help the militants in the area.
“When they launched a CASO in May, they found nothing and after a week or so they again launched another massive CASO and found nothing. Today, the situation remained the same. This is only to instill the fear among not only militants but masses too,” an expert wishing anonymity said.
Meanwhile, earlier on May 04, around four thousand soldiers were involved in the operation while as, according to the sources, around one thousand soldiers were involved in today’s operation. Sources said that there were no arrests carried out by the security forces and no ransacking of houses or public property was done compared to the earlier one.
Cordon and Search operation, which will be a permanent feature in anti-militancy operations, has become a daily routine for the security forces in South Kashmir. The operation involves door to door search and evacuation of civilians in case of militant activity is spotted inside the area of search.
However, according to the eyewitness, the evacuation of civilians is least preferred by the security forces during the anti-militant operations.
KV Correspondent
