Colonel, Major, DSP killed in J&K encounter

In a high casualty operation in J&K’s Anantnag on Wednesday, a Colonel and Major of the Army and a Deputy Superintendent of Police were killed in an exchange of fire with terrorists that continued till late evening.

Officials said that Colonel Manpreeet Singh, Commanding Officer of the 19 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Aashish Dhonchak from the same unit and DySP Humayun Muzammil were injured in the initial hours of the gunfight and later succumbed to injuries. Both Col Singh and Major Dhonchak were recipients of the Sena Medal for gallantry. There was no word from officials till late on the number of terrorists killed or injured in the operation.

An official statement on the casualties has not been issued but Union minister and former Army Chief General VK Singh (retd) in a social media post paid tribute to Col Singh. “Colonel Manpreet Singh, awarded the Sena Medal of 19 RR, 12 SIKHLI Indian Army attained martyrdom while fighting terrorists in Anantnag, Kashmir. The country is shocked by this sad news. I pay tribute to the martyrdom of Martyr Colonel Manpreet Singh and pray to God to provide strength to his family in this difficult time,” he wrote on social media platform X.


Col Singh is the senior-most Army officer to be killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir in over three years. In May 2020, a similar incident took place in Handwara in which five security personnel, which included Col Ashutosh Sharma, Commanding Officer of 21 Rashtriya Rifles as well as a Major, were killed in a gunfight with terrorists.

Details of the encounter have not been shared but the Srinagar-based 15 Corps had earlier posted on X that the operation, termed Op Garol, was based on specific intelligence on the presence of terrorists at Anantnag. The Corps HQ said that a joint operation was launched on the intervening night of 12-13 September and a firefight ensued. Senior police and army officials including DGP Dilbag Singh, GoC Chinar Corps Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai and Additional DGP in Kashmir Vijay Kumar reached the spot in Garole area to monitor the operation till late evening.

A senior army official said that over the past year, outfits like the People’s Anti Fascist Force in Jammu division and The Resistance Front in Kashmir have received fresh batches of trained foreigners who have shunned the use of hideouts in urban and residential areas and have moved towards forests and higher mountain reaches.

Another army official said that “militants have limited the use of cellular and satellite phones and ensured to lure armed forces into forests, where they have a tactical advantage.” Earlier this week, Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi informed that out of 46 militants killed this year 37 were foreigners.