NIA visits J-K's Poonch encounter site
Dec 22, 2023
New Delhi [India], December 22 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday visited the encounter site in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district in which four Indian soldiers were killed and three suffered injuries.
It is learnt that a specialised team of the Central agency led by a Deputy Inspector General as well as a Superintendent of Police rank officer will be monitoring the findings of the visit to the site.
The NIA suo motto decides to send its team to visit the scene of crime in which it finds any terror angle, whether the case is handed over to the agency or not.
As four Indian Army soldiers were killed in action and three were injured during a gunfight with terrorists in Poonch district, the agency decided to get detailed inputs by visiting the spot.
Earlier on Thursday evening, four Army personnel were killed while three others were injured in the forest area of Dera ki Gali in the Rajouri district after two Army vehicles were ambushed by heavily armed terrorists.
The terrorists ambushed two Army vehicles carrying troops in Thanamandi, Rajouri.
The encounter started after terrorists fired at the two army vehicles passing through Dera Ki Gali in Rajouri's Poonch region at 3.45 pm on Thursday.
Security personnel are conducting a search operation in the forest area of Dera ki Gali.
Recently, the NIA took over the Jammu and Kashmir Kokernag encounter case that occurred in Anantnag district in September this year in which a colonel, a major and a soldier from the Indian Army, a DySP of J-K Police, and Lashkar-e-Taiba militant Uzair Khan were killed.
In the incident, the Indian Army lost 19 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) Commanding Officer Col Manpreet Singh, company commander Major Ashish Dhonchak, Jammu and Kashmir Police Deputy Superintendent of Police Humayun Bhat and trooper Pardeep Singh on September 13 at Gadole Forest of Kokernag in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir. The operation was completed after six days on September 19.
Stating about the Kokernag encounter, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh had said that it was the handiwork of some vested interests to blow the Kokernag encounter out of proportion.
The DGP had said that terrorists opened the fire first in the encounter leading to the killing of three officers.
