The bullet-riddled bodies of two missing Special Police Officers (SPOs) were recovered in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Thursday, triggering suspicions of a possible terrorist attack. Their service weapons were also found missing, officials said.
The bodies were recovered from the remote Dachhan belt of the district. The two officers, identified as Babi Chand (57) and Rashpal Kumar (45), had been missing since Wednesday.
Both officers were posted with the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the local police in Kiyar village in Dachhan. They went missing while travelling from their camp to an Army post at Dharna-Marwah.
According to reports, locals heard gunshots in the area between Kiyar and Derana before the officers disappeared.
Officials said the two were part of a patrol party travelling towards the makeshift base of 17 RR in the Basnan area of Inderwal. The area is remote and has poor mobile connectivity.
Following their disappearance, police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Army jointly launched a massive search operation. Security teams were deployed across the surrounding areas to trace the officers and establish the circumstances behind their disappearance.
The incident comes after another SPO, Bashir Ahmed (55), went missing along with his service rifle in Kishtwar district on October 14. His body was recovered near his residence two days later. Ahmed, a resident of Wanipora Trigam, had been posted at the Pedil police post since 2025. He had gone missing along with his service self-loading rifle (SLR).
The recovery of the two SPOs’ bodies comes barely 24 hours after terrorists attacked a CRPF team at Akhran near Mir Bazar in Kulgam district.
Three CRPF personnel were injured in the attack. One critically injured jawan was later airlifted to the Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar. The other two injured personnel are stable, according to attending doctors.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited the hospital on Wednesday evening to enquire about the condition of the injured personnel. He assured the injured jawan of all possible assistance and said those responsible for the attack would be avenged soon.
