Jammu, Nov 12 (PTI) The bullet-riddled bodies of two Special Police Officers (SPOs) were recovered from Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district early Thursday, a day after they went missing from the remote Dachhan area and terrorists targeted a CRPF checkpost in Kulgam, officials said.
The service weapons of the slain personnel were not found. These include an INSAS rifle and a .303 rifle along with some magazines and ammunition that are believed to have been taken away by terrorists, officials said. Empty cartridges of Pakistani-origin armour-piercing (AP) steel-core ammunition were recovered from the scene, they said.
"A massive operation is underway to identify, track and neutralise the assailants," said an official.
The two SPOs have been identified as Babi Chand (57) and Rashpal Kumar (45). They were posted with the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the local police at Kiyar village in Dachhan and had gone missing on Wednesday while travelling from their camp to an Army post for patrolling duty at Dharna-Marwah. They were locals and were aware of the topography of the area, an official said.
Their mobile phones were initially reachable but were later switched off, prompting concerns and an extensive search operation.
Security forces rushed reinforcements and deployed specialised teams equipped with drones and sniffer dogs early this morning, widening the search to cover a wider area around Kiyar and the route towards Dharna-Marwah.
While drones scanned inaccessible forest stretches, sniffer dogs assisted ground teams in tracking possible movement.
The killing of the two SPOs follows an attack on a CRPF checkpost in south Kashmir's Kulgam district on Wednesday, in which three security personnel were injured, one of them critically.
The twin incidents led to widespread condemnation, including from the National Conference, BJP, Congress, PDP and CPI-M.
Several right-wing groups. including the Shiv Sena Dogra Front and Bajrang Dal, staged anti-Pakistan protests in Jammu and demanded action against those responsible.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary termed the twin attacks within 24 hours a matter of serious concern, saying the incidents contradict the BJP government's claims of having made Jammu and Kashmir terrorism-free.
He said statehood was taken away from Jammu and Kashmir in the name of security and combating terrorism, yet the security situation remains largely unchanged with militant attacks continuing much as they did when it was a state.
According to National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, those harbouring ambitions of taking Kashmir must abandon such notions and asserted that terrorism would never succeed in its designs.
Expressing concerns over claims in Delhi that terrorism had ended in Jammu and Kashmir, he called for concrete measures and said, "I have already said such incidents are still happening. One never knows where the next attack might take place."
BJP's Sunil Sharma and leader of opposition in the J&K Assembly also condemned the killing of the two SPOs and demanded decisive action against remaining terrorist elements.
“This is extremely tragic. We strongly condemn the attack, but condemnation alone is not enough. The remaining terrorist ecosystem must be completely dismantled. We are hopeful that the security forces, which are actively engaged in operations, will eliminate the remaining Pakistan-sponsored elements and ensure lasting peace across Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
Such incidents, he added, undoubtedly create hurdles in the efforts to restore peace."
CPI-M MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said violence has never yielded any positive results and only inflicts pain and suffering on society. There is no justification for taking innocent lives.
PDP senior leader and spokesperson Firdaus Tak questioned the sudden escalation in violence and urged the government to take serious note of the deteriorating security situation.
He also called for adequate support and rehabilitation for the families of the slain personnel and demanded that those involved in the attacks be apprehended and brought to justice.
Congress' Ravinder Sharma said "such cowardly attacks won't deter our brave forces from eliminating terrorists".
Kishtwar, about 200 km from Jammu, has been a focus of counter-insurgency operations, which have resulted in the killing of several active terrorists. Security forces are continuing efforts to eliminate the remaining terrorist presence in the area's remote and forested areas, officials said.
According to available figures, five people, including four terrorists and one Army soldier, were killed in terror-related incidents in 2026.
The latest incident comes in the backdrop of repeated appeals by the district administration and security agencies for greater public cooperation in tackling terrorism and ensuring lasting peace in the region.
On October 4, Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar Pankaj Kumar Sharma urged residents of the remote areas of Marwah, Warwan and Dachhan to stand united against terrorism and share timely information about the movement of suspected terrorists with security forces.
"Marwah, Warwan and Dachhan areas have immense tourism potential, but the presence of active militants remains one of the key reasons restricting tourist movement in the region," Sharma said, stressing that peace and security were essential for promoting tourism and ensuring sustainable development.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)