While the ongoing search operation has been intensified in the mountainous regions of Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, six members of a family, including four women, have been detained by the police for questioning.
These individuals have been taken into custody for allegedly providing support to terrorists involved in the Safiyan terror attack in the Rajbagh area of Kathua district on Thursday.
Four constables of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police lost their lives in the line of duty, while six others, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police, were injured in the deadly attack.
Family Members of Jailed OGW Picked Up for Questioning
Sources said that security forces have detained six individuals, including the wife and three daughters of notorious overground worker (OGW) Mohammad Lateef, also known as Haji Lateef, for allegedly providing logistical support and shelter to the terrorists involved in the Safiyan terror attack.
Mohammad Lateef, an OGW, is already in jail under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for aiding terrorists in Malhar during an attack on an army truck last year, in which six soldiers lost their lives.
It is believed that Abu Tala, one of the slain terrorists, stayed at Lateef's house. Security forces have questioned over two dozen individuals regarding terrorist movements in the area.
It is important to mention that Mohammad Lateef was arrested for supporting terrorists involved in a deadly attack in Badnota village, located in the Lohai Malhar area of Kathua, on July 9, 2024. In that incident, a heavily armed group of terrorists ambushed two army trucks, killing six soldiers and injuring five others in a fierce encounter.
Following that attack, eight overground workers, including Mohammad Lateef and his associates, were arrested for allegedly assisting the terrorists responsible for the Badnota attack.
Terrorists Spotted in Rui Village of Kathua
According to reports, three suspicious individuals dressed in black robes entered the house of Shanker Singh in Rui village on Sunday evening and asked an elderly woman for water.
The woman told the media that three young men in black attire entered her house and requested food and water. "Instead of waiting for me, one of them entered the kitchen and took away chapati and sabzi," she said, adding that the youth even offered her money—two Rs 500 notes—before leaving, which she refused.
The incident prompted security forces to impose a night cordon in the area to track down the terrorists who had escaped from a recent encounter in Safiyan village in the Kathua district.
Security forces received fresh intelligence about the movement of three individuals suspected to be the escaped terrorists in the Juthana area of the Rajbagh belt. The area was immediately placed under cordon, and search operations were launched.
