Rajouri: The encounter in dense forest cover of Nar in Bhata Dhurian village of Mendhar sub division of Poonch continued for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday with heavy explosions rattling the area in and around the (encounter) site.
Meanwhile the police appealed to people to stay indoors. Announcements in this regard were made through public address systems of local masjids.
Encounter in Bhata Dhurian had started on Thursday evening. Four army personnel, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) lost their lives in this encounter so far.
Officials said that on Tuesday also, the encounter continued in the area and the entire forest area from Sanjiote, Bhata Dhurian and Nar remained under tight cordon.
“Intermittent exchange of gunfire continued in the area as heavy explosions kept on rattling the entire hilly belt of Bhata Dhurian,” said officials.
Meanwhile, the people living in Nar, Bhata Dhurian and Sanjiote areas around the encounter site were asked by the police to refrain from coming out of their houses. They were asked to stay indoors.
Announcements were made on Tuesday evening from local mosques of Nar and Bhata Dhurian after police approached the religious preachers and leaders.
During these announcements, religious preachers were heard asking people to refrain from coming out of their homes and to move to the forest area of Bhata Dhurian and Nar.
“All the villagers are requested not to venture out of their houses until it’s important. They are appealed to not move towards Nar and Bhata forests,” religious preachers urged.
Villagers were also asked to keep their livestock inside sheds and not to push the animals towards forest for grazing.