Two Special Police Officers Who Went Missing on Duty Found Dead in J&K's Kishtwar

Jammu: Two Special Police Officers (SPOs) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, who went missing while on operational duty in the upper reaches of Kishtwar district on Wednesday, were found dead early Thursday morning, officials confirmed.

The deceased personnel have been identified as Bobby Chand (57) and Rashpal Kumar (45), both attached to the Special Operations Group (SOG) at the Kiyar camp in Dachhan. Their bodies were recovered by search teams in the dense forest area of Dherna Top under the Marwah police station's jurisdiction.

Disappearance After Gunshots in Forest

According to police officials, the two officers set out on foot from Kiyar Dachhan on Wednesday afternoon toward a makeshift post of the Army’s 17 Rashtriya Rifles at Basnan in the Dherna-Marwah area. The rugged terrain lacks road connectivity and falls within a mobile communication shadow zone.

Around 3:30 p.m., local sources reported hearing gunshots echoing through the Deharna forest belt while the officers were in transit. Mobile network connectivity in the Marwah region also experienced disruptions around the same time. Officials noted that while the officers' phones were briefly reachable initially, both devices soon went switched off, raising immediate alarm.

Massive Joint Manhunt Launched

When the two SPOs failed to reach their designated post by evening, a reinforcement party from the SOG, accompanied by the local Station House Officer, moved into the forest terrain to trace them. The Jammu and Kashmir Police, Indian Army, and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) subsequently launched a large-scale joint search operation across the higher reaches.

Following overnight search efforts, security personnel located the bodies of both officers at Dherna Top on Thursday morning.

Intensified Counter-Insurgency Operations

Security forces have cordoned off the surrounding forested belt and intensified combing operations to track down the assailants responsible for the attack. The upper reaches of Dachhan and Marwah in Kishtwar have long been a focal point for counter-insurgency operations aimed at neutralising remaining militants operating in the remote Chenab Valley region.

The tragedy marks the second fatality involving an SPO in Kishtwar within a month, following the killing of 55-year-old SPO Bashir Ahmed near his residence in Trigam in October.