The security situation in Indian-administered Kashmir appears to be a cause for concern once again, as two separate incidents in the Kulgam and Kishtwar districts have left two police personnel dead and three paramilitary personnel injured.
According to the police, on Wednesday afternoon, unidentified armed individuals on a motorcycle opened fire at a checkpoint manned by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the Nopora Akhran area of ​​Kulgam district, South Kashmir.
Head Constable Somveer Singh, Constable Rakesh Das, and Constable Santosh Chandro were injured in the attack. They were immediately shifted to the Government Medical College in Anantnag; one of the personnel, due to his critical condition, was airlifted to the Badami Bagh Army Hospital in Srinagar.
The attack occurred while the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, was attending the inauguration ceremony of a cultural festival in Kulgam. He later visited the hospital to inquire after the injured personnel, stating that security forces have been granted full autonomy to take action against the attackers.
A few hours after the Kulgam incident, the bodies of two Special Police Officers (SPOs) were recovered from Dachhan—a remote, forested area in the Kishtwar district.
According to the police, 57-year-old Bobby Chand and 45-year-old Rishpal Kumar had departed from the Kiar-Dachhan camp on Wednesday afternoon, heading toward an army camp in Marwah, but went missing en route. On Thursday morning, their bullet-riddled bodies were recovered from the forest.
Security officials state that the service weapons of both personnel are also missing, suggesting that they were targeted in an ambush and that the attackers took their arms with them.
Following the incidents, IGP Kashmir Sujit Kumar and senior CRPF officials visited Kulgam to assess the security situation.
According to the IGP Kashmir, security agencies had received prior intelligence regarding suspicious movement in the area, which had prompted the deployment of additional personnel. He noted that the swift retaliatory action by the personnel thwarted a larger plot by the attackers.
The Army, the CRPF, and the Jammu and Kashmir Police have launched joint search operations in both the Kulgam and Kishtwar districts. In Kulgam, efforts are underway to identify the attackers using CCTV footage, while in the forested areas of Kishtwar, search operations are being conducted with the assistance of drones, sniffer dogs, and special units.
According to security analysts, these incidents—occurring during the peak of tourist activity in the valley—present a new challenge for security agencies.
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