SRINAGAR: The bullet-riddled bodies of two Special Police Officers (SPOs), who had gone missing while proceeding for duty in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, were recovered from a forest area in the Dachhan sector on Thursday, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as SPO Rashpal Kumar, 45, Belt No. 65, and SPO Bobby Chand, 57, Belt No. 920, officials said.
Both were residents of Kiyar Dachhan and were posted with the Special Operations Group (SOG), Kiyar Sector, Dachhan, in Kishtwar district.
According to officials, the two officers went missing on November 10 after being detailed for rotation duty at Army Camp Dharna in Marwah sector. They failed to report to the designated Temporary Operating Base (TOB), following which their whereabouts became unknown.
A search operation was subsequently launched to trace them. Their bodies were eventually recovered from a forested area in Dachhan, bearing bullet injuries.
Officials said their service weapons were missing from the recovery site, raising further concerns over the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
Security forces have intensified the cordon and search operation in the area to trace those responsible for the killings. The operation is also aimed at establishing the circumstances leading to the disappearance and subsequent deaths of the two SPOs.
Further details were awaited.
