The bodies of two missing Special Police Officers were recovered with multiple bullet wounds in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, prompting a massive security manhunt and suspicions of militant involvement.

The bodies of two missing Special Police Officers were recovered with multiple bullet wounds in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, prompting a massive security manhunt and suspicions of militant involvement.

The bodies of two missing Special Police Officers were recovered with multiple bullet wounds in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, prompting a massive security manhunt and suspicions of militant involvement.

The bodies of two missing Special Police Officers (SPOs) were recovered from Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district early Thursday, prompting security forces to launch a massive manhunt for the assailants.

The deceased personnel were identified as Babi Chand, 57, and Rashpal Kumar, 45. They had gone missing while travelling from their camp to an Army post at Dharna-Marwah on Wednesday.

According to reports, the bodies bore multiple bullet wounds, while their service weapons were missing, raising suspicions of a possible militant involvement in the killings.

Kishtwar MLA Shagun Parihar told ANI that the bodies were recovered at around 8 am and 9 am. She alleged Pakistan's involvement in the incident and urged the Centre to ensure that those responsible were brought to justice.

"Pakistan continues to persist with its nefarious conspiracies. We urge the Home Minister to ensure that those responsible for the deaths of these two SPOs are held to account as soon as possible. We want to exact a price—for these two, we want to take down four. I am leaving for the area shortly; as soon as we received the news that their bodies had been recovered, we set out for the southern region," Parihar said.

The recovery came after an extensive search operation was launched on Wednesday, with specialised teams equipped with drones and sniffer dogs deployed across forested stretches and difficult mountainous terrain.

The personnel's mobile phones were initially reachable but were subsequently switched off, raising concerns among security agencies and prompting an intensified search.

Kishtwar has remained a focus of counter-insurgency operations, with security forces continuing efforts to track down militants operating in its remote and densely forested areas.

A series of counter-insurgency operations has resulted in the killing of several active militants in the district, significantly weakening their presence. However, the latest killings underscore the continuing security challenges in the region.

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