Jammu and Kashmir Police, along with the Indian Army, neutralised a terrorist in Jammu and Kashmir's Basantgarh area on Thursday, June 26, under operation Bihali. The Basantgarh region is in the Udhampur district of the union territory. This comes just a few days before the beginning of the annual Amarnath Yatra in the Kashmir Himalayas, concerning the safety and security of the pilgrims.
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"Op BIHALI Update In the ongoing joint operation by #IndianArmy & @JmuKmrPolice in #Basantgarh, one #terrorist has been neutralized till now.#Operation continues," Indian Army's White Knight Corps in a post on X.
Inspector General of police, Jammu Zone, Bhim Sen Tuti, said full security has been deployed for the annual yatra in Jammu and Kashmir. "An encounter took place in Basantgarh. Contact was established around 8:30 am. The search operation is still going on. The weather is bad. The situation will become clear after the weather clears. According to us, it is a group of 4 terrorists," he added further.
Operation Bihali was established early Thursday morning in the remote area of the Udhampur district amid heavy rainfall and dense fog. “Contact was established with the terrorists around 8.30 am… they are believed to be four in number, and we have been tracking (this group) for the last one year,” Inspector General of Police, Jammu range, Bhim Sen Tuti, told reporters at an event, as quoted by PTI.
After the Pahalgam terror attack, additional companies of BSF, CRPF and SSB have been made available to Jammu and Kashmir to provide security to the upcoming Amarnath Yatra that starts on July 3 and concludes on August 9, coinciding with the Shravan Purnima festival.