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Militant infiltration down in Pir Panjal
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Pir Ki Marg (Poonch), September 13
After about two decades since the militancy began in the state, the Pir Panjal Range, which was once a transit point for militants before entering Kashmir valley and saw heavy presence of terrorists, is now witnessing their negligible presence.

Local sources said areas like Kanzal Pathri, Khud Pathri,Aagas, Ghainta Pahad, Pahol Kain, Mug Naad, Palang Pathri, Dabchi and Qatarkhad in the Pir Panjal mountain area which had massive forest cover used to witness a virtual flood of militants during the summer months.

They added that the Hill Kaka area, where the Army launched Operation Sarpvanash to flush out militants few years ago also lay in the Pir Panjal range.

A nomad family living in the Pir Panjal mountain range. Photo by writer

The sources further said that in the past two to three years less numbers of militants were seen. They added that besides serving as a perfect transit point for militants, they were running training camps and used to get food from nomads visiting the area. These nomads along with their cattle come here during summer months as the area has plenty of grass for livestock.

“Few years back, about four to five militants came and asked us for food. Since they pointed guns at us, we gave them food. While they were taking their meals inside our temporary shed, the Army raided but they managed to escape”, said a nomad of the Behrote area. He has been visiting the area since 1958.

“The militants used to move freely in the area and were even running small camps here. But after 2005, they are no longer seen. I am saying this because had they been around they would have come to us for food”.

An Intelligence Department official, who is on a mission in the area to study the presence of militants along the Pir Panjal range also confirmed that there were fewer militants in the area now. He added that few years back while he was on the same mission, he was caught by a group of militants in the Komdal area. There were 400 to 500 militants. He was let off by them on the pretext that he was a local.

“Militants are no longer using this route. There are about 10 to 15 militants, who are still present in the area. Since they are not having much ammunition with them they are just passing their time”, said the intelligence official. A senior police officer on condition of anonimity said that security forces had worked tirelessly to clean the Pir Panjal Range to a large extent.

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Contradicting the assertions of the police, relatives as well as other villagers said that the police threw Noor’s body on the road . They added that after they found the body, he was shifted to District Hospital Rajouri where doctors did his post mortem.

One of the senior doctors at the District Hospital said the police brought the deceased to the hospital saying that he had consumed some poisonous substance. He added that following which the doctors washed the stomach of the deceased and the patient was let off from the hospital.

He claimed that a police team brought the body to the hospital for conducting post -mortem examination of the deceased this morning . He further said that doctors conducted the post-mortem examination of the deceased and the hospital authorities sent his viscera to Forensic science Laboratory (FSL) in Jammu for ascertaining the cause of the death of the deceased. “We will know the cause of the death only after we get the report form FSL”, he added.

Meanwhile relatives of the deceased alleged that a police team led by a DSP visited the house of the deceased in the morning and offered the family Rs 15,000 and a job of Special Police Officer (SPO) to the son of the victim.