Two Missing Special Police Officers Found Dead in Kishtwar Forests

Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir recovered the bodies of two Special Police Officers who went missing in the rugged forested belt of Kishtwar district, officials confirmed on Friday. The personnel, who were attached to the Special Operations Group of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, had disappeared while travelling to take up operational duties in a remote mountainous sector.

The deceased officers were identified by authorities as 45-year-old Rashpal Kumar and 57-year-old Bobby Chand, both residents of the Kiyar area in Dachhan. Search teams discovered their bullet-riddled bodies in the dense forests between Kiyar and Dherana after hours of intensive combing through treacherous terrain.

According to police officials, the two officers had left their station to report for rotation duty at a temporary operational post in the Dachhan-Marwah zone. Contact was lost shortly after their departure, triggering immediate alarm among colleagues and commanders stationed in the district.

Local villagers reported hearing bursts of gunfire echoing through the wooded hills shortly after the officers set out on foot. When search teams reached the location where the bodies were discovered, both officers' service weapons were missing, leading investigators to strongly suspect a planned ambush by militants active in the upper reaches of the region.

A massive joint search operation was swiftly launched across the higher ridges of Dachhan and adjoining forests, involving teams from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Indian Army, and paramilitary units. Security forces cordoned off potential escape routes, deploying sniffer dogs and aerial surveillance to locate the attackers who fled deeper into the mountainous wilderness.

The incident prompted security agencies to heighten vigilance across the wider Chenab Valley and neighbouring administrative divisions. Authorities in the adjacent Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh were also alerted, with border checkpoints reinforced to prevent militants from crossing state boundaries or slipping through mountain passes.

Special Police Officers play a frontline role in counter-insurgency and local intelligence gathering across Jammu and Kashmir's difficult terrains. Recruited largely from local communities, they possess invaluable knowledge of local geography and mountain tracks, frequently making them targets for militant groups seeking to disrupt grassroots security apparatus.

Political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir expressed severe grief and condemnation following the discovery of the officers' remains. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha affirmed that the sacrifice of the personnel would not go unavenged, while Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the killings as a heinous and cowardly act, offering condolences to the bereaved families.

Security officials stated that forensic examinations and post-mortem procedures were underway to establish the precise sequence of events leading to the ambush. Meanwhile, extensive combing operations continue in the forested heights of Kishtwar as security forces maintain an intensive dragnet to track down the perpetrators.