Jammu: Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi reviewed the prevailing security situation in Kathua district on Saturday, officials said.
The visit of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to Kathua, bordering Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, comes amid stepped up anti-terrorist operations across Jammu region where two village defence guards were shot dead by the militants after their abduction in a latest attack in Kishtwar district on Thursday.
“General Upendra Dwivedi, COAS, visited forward units of Rising Star Corps deployed in Kathua, Jammu & Kashmir and was briefed on the existing security situation. (The) COAS also interacted with troops & commended them for their high standards of professionalism & devotion to duty,” Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) of the Indian Army wrote on ‘X’.
Meanwhile, the commander of the Army’s White Knight Corps visited Kishtwar district on Friday to review the ongoing operations to track down terrorists responsible for the killings of two Village Defence Guards.
The bodies of Nazir Ahmed and Kuldeep Kumar, the two Village Defence Guards (VDGs) killed by terrorists, were found near a rivulet during a massive search operation, officials said.
The officials said the two VDGs were executed on Thursday after being abducted in the higher reaches of Kishtwar.
On Friday, Lieutenant General Navin Sachdeva — the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Jammu-based White Knight Corps — visited the area and reviewed the operations.
A large-scale cordon-and-search operation is underway to apprehend the terrorists responsible for the killings.
“The GOC of White Knight Corps, along with commanders, visited Kishtwar and the general area of Bhart Ridge to review the operations in progress,” the White Knight Corps said in a post on X.
The Army, police and other security agencies have cordoned off the area to prevent the terrorists from escaping.
