Bullet-riddled bodies of 2 missing SPOs recovered in J&K’s Kishtwar, weapons missing

Mangalore Today News Network

J&K, Nov 12, 2026: The bodies of two Special Police Officers (SPOs), who went missing in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district a day earlier, were recovered with bullet injuries early Thursday, officials said.

The recovery came after a massive search operation was launched in the remote, forested belt of the district following reports of gunfire.

Their service weapons, however, were missing, raising suspicions of a possible militant ambush in the area. Officials said the possibility of militant involvement was being examined.

The deceased were identified as Babi Chand (57) and Rashpal Kumar (45), both residents of Kiyar village in the remote Dachhan belt. The two personnel were attached to the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Kishtwar Police and were posted in the Kiyar sector.

According to officials, Chand and Kumar had been assigned rotation duty at the 17 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) Temporary Operating Base (TOB) in the Marwah sector. They were travelling from Kiyar towards the Army post on Wednesday to relieve personnel stationed there but failed to report for duty.

A Terrorist Ambush?

During their journey through the dense forests and mountainous terrain, gunshots were reportedly heard near the Deharna forest area around 3:30 pm on Wednesday, as per the sources.

Porters who were either accompanying the personnel or moving along the route reportedly heard the firing and rushed back to alert security forces.

Since security teams were deployed in the vicinity, the initial hours passed under the assumption that the exchange might be friendly fire or miscommunication until contact could not be established.

However, concerns mounted after the two personnel could not be contacted and failed to reach their destination.

According to the authorities, it is likely that the hidden terrorists had ambushed the personnel in the remote shadow-zone area.

Their disappearance triggered a joint search and cordon operation involving the Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and local police. Security personnel combed the difficult mountainous terrain and dense forest stretches across Dachhan to locate the missing officers.

Following extensive search efforts, their bullet-riddled bodies were recovered early Thursday.

Kishtwar’s Remote Areas Remain Focus Of Security Operations

The incident comes amid sustained counter-insurgency operations in Kishtwar, where security forces have been working to eliminate the remaining militant presence in the district’s difficult mountainous terrain.

The region’s dense forests and remote settlements continue to present challenges for security agencies attempting to track militant movements and conduct search operations.

According to available figures, terror-related incidents in Kishtwar claimed five lives in 2026, including four terrorists and an Army soldier. In 2025, four people – three terrorists and one Army soldier – were killed. The toll in 2024 included three security personnel and two civilians.

Earlier, on October 4, Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma had appealed to residents of Marwah, Warwan and Dachhan to cooperate with security agencies and promptly report suspicious activity.

“Marwah, Warwan and Dachhan areas have immense tourism potential, but the presence of active militants remains one of the key reasons restricting tourist movement in the region," Sharma had said, underlining the importance of maintaining peace and security for tourism and development in the area.