J&K sees uptick in militant activities amid polls; two army personnel injured in encounter

Two Army personnel were injured in an ongoing encounter in Bandipora area of north Kashmir on Wednesday. Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed an uptick in such incidents since the beginning of the Lok Sabha elections.This is the second encounter in Kashmir valley in less than two weeks. J&K Police said that a contact was established between militants and armed forces on Wednesday morning in Renji forest area of Bandipora’s Aragam village and the search operation is going on.Officials said “two army troopers received bullet wounds during the initial exchange of fire with terrorists and both are stable”. The armed forces have pressed helicopters and drones in service for surveillance of the forest area to prevent militants from fleeing. No casualty has been reported from either side, so far.On April 11, one militant Danish Sheikh, allegedly associated with LeT, was killed in an encounter in Pulwama. On April 17, unidentified gunmen shot dead a migrant from Bihar in Bijbehara area of Anantnag. Police and paramilitary forces have amplified frisking of private vehicles on all major roads in Srinagar in the wake of suspected movement of the militants.

Last few weeks have witnessed an increase in violence in the Union territory, where Lok Sabha elections have been held in just one constituency of Udhampur so far. Polls in other four constituencies are scheduled in the coming phases.

On the other side of Pir Panjal mountain range in Rajouri, suspected militants shot dead a government employee Mohammad Razaq in Shadra Sharief area on April 22.The administration in Rajouri has also issued an order suspending use of virtual private networks on mobile phones till polls are over on May 7.