Rajouri, Nov 8: Five gunfights in the last three months in four sub-divisions of Rajouri and Poonch districts have forced authorities to heighten the vigil in these subdivisions even as security in the twin districts is already on a high alert.
The four subdivisions where security apparatus has been tightened further include Thanamandi and Manjakote subdivisions of Rajouri district and Surankote and Mendhar subdivisions of Poonch district.
All these four subdivisions are connected with Mendhar and Manjakote located along the Line of Control (LoC) while Thanamandi and Surankote are hinterland areas.
In these four subdivisions, five gunfights have taken place during the last three months including the August 6 gunfight in Bhangai Top village of Thanamandi, August 19 gunfight in Karyote Kalas of Thanamandi, September 12 gunfight at Dori Mal in Manjakote, October 12 gunfight at Chamrer in Surankote and October 15 gunfight at Nar Khas Bhata Dhurian in Mendhar.
Ten Army men and four militants have been killed in these gunfights.
Official sources said that after these five gunfights in these four subdivisions, especially after three gunfights in the Thanamandi sub-division alone, security has been further beefed up in the four subdivisions besides the already heightened security scenario in Rajouri and Poonch districts.
Official sources said that the main challenge in all these sub-divisions was dense forest cover with the forests being interconnected and dense and also not having much human habitation.
This forest cover in the Thanamandi subdivision is located in the upper reaches including DKG, Bhangai, Shahdra upper side, and these forests are interconnected with the forests of Manjakote in villages including Gambhir Mughlan Top, Deri Ralyote Top, and Kotli.
Similarly, in the Mendhar sub-division, Sangiote, Bhata Dhurian, Jarran Wali Gali, and Nar Khas have a thick forest cover connecting these areas in Surankote forest areas of Chamrer, DKG, and Draba.
“In all these forest areas, gunfights have taken place in two areas in Thanamandi, one each in Manjakote Surankote and Mendhar sub-division,” official sources said.
They said that the inhabited areas were also high in these four sub-divisions whereas hilly terrain and poor condition of the majority of link roads further created hardships for the forces.
They said that keeping in view all these circumstances, security arrangements in these four sub-divisions had been put on extra alert and heightened vigil was being maintained in addition to the existing security alert in the twin districts.