Terrorist attack on VDC in Rajouri: Defence expert blames ISIS, calls for strengthening local forces

Speaking on the attack on a Village Development Committee (VDC) member in Gunda village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri, defence expert Anil Gaur said on Monday that the terrorists were directed by ISIS to carry out the attack.

“This action is again what ISIS has directed the terrorists to do: to create mayhem over here so that people don’t come out and don’t report about their movement. But the people are awake, and these VDC members are now strong and they should be strengthened even more to eliminate the terrorists immedietly, ” he said.

He further added that the attack on the house of the member of the VCD also shows that the terrorists are scared, as they realised that the VCDs are empowered and it would cause a problem for them to operate in that region.

“This attack on the house of a member of the VDC in Rajouri shows that the terrorists are scared now as they realised that the VDCs are now empowered and so it would be a problem to operate there,” Gaur stated.

He further mentioned that the government should immediately strengthen the VDCs by providing them with proper equipment.

“That is why the government should immediately strengthen the VDCs by giving them sophisticated arms and wireless sets to communicate between other VDCs and arm forces so that they can immediately inform others and take combined action against them,” he said.

Speaking on the same, Kavinder Gupta, the former deputy CM of Jammu and Kashmir, said that these are Pakistani-sponsored attacks that will continue to happen and there is also zero tolerance for such attacks.

“There is zero tolerance for such attacks. All the necessary people have been informed and the terrorist will be killed. It is a Pakistani-sponsored attack that has happened and will continue to happen. Pakistan will not behave but we have our ways of dealing with it. The army and the government know. Earlier, they also worked in ways that created peace in Jammu and Kashmir. Hopefully, there will be further investigation into this matter,” he said.

Earlier, in the early hours of Monday, terrorists attacked a Village Development Committee (VDC) at Gunda village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri. A nearby army column reacted to the attack, and a firefight was initiated, according to the White Knight Corps.

“Op Gunda Terrorists attacked the house of a VDC at Gunda, Rajouri at 0310h. A nearby Army column reacted and a firefight ensued. Operations are continuing,” the White Knight Corps stated in a post on ‘X’. Operations are underway in the Gunda area of the district.

In the last few months, there has been a spike in terror attacks in the Jammu region, including the terror attack at the army convoy in Kathua and encounters in Doda and Udhampur.

Earlier on Thursday, July 18, the Indian Army troops opened fire after suspicious movement near the Line of Control in the Sunderbani area of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir.

In a separate incident, two Indian Army soldiers were injured in an encounter with terrorists in the Kastigarh area of Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.

Initial treatment was administered at the government hospital in Doda and then the soldiers were airlifted to the Army hospital through an Army helicopter.

The encounter came days after four army soldiers, including an officer, laid down their lives while battling terrorists in the Doda encounter on Tuesday.

On July 15, based on specific intelligence inputs, a joint operation by the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police was in progress in an area north of Doda.

According to the White Knight Corps, contact with terrorists was established at about 9 pm during which a heavy firefight ensued. Four soldiers, including an officer, were killed in action.

The soldiers killed in action have been identified as Captain Brijesh Thapa, Naik D Rajesh, Sepoy Bijendra, and Sepoy Ajay.