Kishtwar, Jan 30 — Mobile internet services have been suspended in parts of Kishtwar’s Chenab Valley amid an ongoing search operation in the snowbound Chatroo belt, officials said on Friday.
According to inputs, the curbs cover a six-kilometre radius, including Singhpora, Chingam and Chatroo, and have been extended on January 30 under an order issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Home Department.
The suspension has been ordered to prevent the possible misuse of mobile data services by anti-India elements, which could lead to deterioration of public order, an official said.
The shutdown was initially imposed on January 23 and was authorised by the Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone, under the Temporary Suspension of Telecommunication Services Rules, 2024.
Meanwhile, forces are continuing search operations in Pajja Morh, Nabana Top and adjoining areas of Surankote in Poonch district following intelligence inputs about the presence of suspected militants.
“So far there has been no contact with the suspected persons, but the operation is ongoing,” officials said.
The massive hunt began on January 18 after a fierce gunfight in the Sonnar forest near Mandral-Singhpora, in which a paratrooper was killed and seven others were injured. Despite more than two feet of snowfall and difficult terrain, forces continued to track the militants, who managed to escape into dense forests.
Two more encounters followed at Mali Dana Top on January 22 and at Janseer-Kandiwar on January 25, but the militants again slipped away.
Officials believe several foreign militants may have taken refuge in the higher reaches of the Chenab belt.