4 JeM militants killed in Nagrota gunfight, truck driver escapes; slain were planning big strike: IGP Jammu

Jammu: Inspector General of Police Jammu range Mukesh Singh Thursday said that a newly infiltrated group of four militants from the Jaish-e-Muhammad were killed at Ban Toll Plaza near Nagrota on Srinagar-Jammu highway after a truck in which they were travelling was intercepted at a checkpoint. He said that the truck driver managed to flee from the spot while security forces recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition that include 11 AK 47 riffles and 29 grenades.
Addressing a press conference, IGP Jammu Mukesh Singh said that ever since the announcement for the District Development Council (DDC), police had been receiving inputs about a possible infiltration bid in Jammu. “We had kept our all teams deployed at naka points. There were intelligence inputs that militants may sneak in along with large quantity of arms and ammunition,” the IGP Jammu said.
He said at around 5 am, a truck was stopped and when it was searched, the driver stepped out and fled. “During the search of the vehicle, the hiding militants opened a heavy volume of fire that was retaliated. The encounter lasted for three hours. Two policemen sustained injuries and both are stable,” he said.
The IGP Jammu said that four unidentified militants were killed in the gunfight. “All the slain were carrying large quantity of arms and ammunition with them. This is for the first in the past few years that such a large quantity of weapons were recovered from the slain—11 AK riffles, 29 grenades (apart from those lobbed at forces), three pistols, pouches, mobile phones and other incriminating material,” the IGP Jammu said, adding that the slain militants were affiliated with the Jaish-e-Muhammad outfit.
Asked about the motive of militants, the IGP said that given the quantity of weapons recovered from the slain, it seems that the group had infiltrated recently and were “planning something very big.” “But their plan stands foiled,” he said, adding that the operation was carried out jointly by police, CRPF and the army. Army’s northern command based defence spokesman in a tweet said: “Enemy’s nefarious designs of disturbing the peace process in J&K foiled by Security Forces. In an encounter at Ban Toll Plaza, near Nagrota on the Jammu Srinagar Highway today, 4 militants of JeM were killed, 11 weapons recovered along with other explosives.”