SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma on Thursday alleged that remnants of the old terror-support network remained active in the region, saying the ecosystem that had previously supported terrorism had not been completely dismantled.
His remarks came after the bullet-riddled bodies of two missing Special Police Officers (SPOs), identified as Babi Chand (57) and Rashpal Kumar (45), were recovered in the remote Dachhan belt of Kishtwar district on Thursday morning.
Describing the killings as extremely unfortunate, Sharma said the incident showed that terrorist elements were still attempting to assert their presence despite significant progress towards establishing peace in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Peace is gradually being established in Jammu and Kashmir, yet frustrated elements—frustrated terrorists—carry out such acts just to signal their presence,” he said.
According to Sharma, the two SPOs were travelling through a dense forest from Dherna towards Kiad when they were allegedly kidnapped by terrorists. He said he was heading to the site along with Kishtwar MLA Shagun Parihar and the party’s district president to assess the situation.
Responding to a question about the possible re-emergence of an over-ground worker (OGW) network, particularly in Kishtwar, Sharma said he would not describe the situation as the establishment of a major new network but maintained that the existing support system had not been completely dismantled.
“I wouldn’t say that a major new network has been established; rather, the old network has not yet been completely dismantled. And I believe that the ecosystem which was supporting terrorism here—that ecosystem, in some form or another, is still present. This is what has allowed them to carry out an incident like this,” he said.
He added that the remaining elements of the network would also be dealt with.
