Jammu, Jan 08: The security forces on Thursday morning resumed a search operation to track down terrorists hiding in a forest in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, where one security person suffered a minor injury.

The joint action by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of J-K Police and other security forces was launched at Kahog village in Billawar on Wednesday evening, leading to an encounter, officials said.

“The search operation to track down the hiding terrorists has been resumed after a night-long cordon,” a senior security official said.

The searches are being conducted in the Dhanu Parole-Kamadh nallah area. Additional forces have been called in, along with aerial surveillance, to pin down the terrorists hiding in the dense forest, they said.

“Despite darkness, thick vegetation and treacherous terrain, the SOG is relentlessly engaging the terrorists. Teams of the CRPF are also participating in the joint operation,” Bhim Sen Tuti, IGP, Jammu Zone, said in a post on X.

The gunfight broke out at Kahog village on Wednesday evening after security forces launched a search operation based on information about the presence of two to three terrorists in the area, the officials said.

During the exchange of fire, one security person suffered a minor injury after a bullet hit his leg. He has been hospitalised, they said.

“The SOG has engaged the terrorists in the forest area of Kamadh nallah, Kathua,” the IGP said in another post on X.

According to officials, the firing between the two sides lasted for more than an hour before the guns fell silent. It was not immediately known if any terrorist was hit in the gunfight, the officials said.

There are also reports of the movement of three groups of infiltrating terrorists in the region.

The Army, the BSF, police and the CRPF are continuously conducting search operations, identifying border dwellers, and intensifying patrols along the International Border in Samba and Kathua districts and the adjoining areas of Punjab for the past one month, the officials said.

A multi-tier security grid comprising the BSF, border police, and Village Defence Guards (VDGs) has been put on alert ahead of the Republic Day on January 26.

The Kathua district has witnessed several encounters between security forces and terrorists over the past two years, resulting in the killings of 16 people – 11 security personnel and five terrorists.

While seven security personnel and two militants were killed in 2024 when terrorists revived their activities in the district after more than a decade, seven persons – four security men and three terrorists – were killed in 2023, the officials said.

In addition, four civilians died under mysterious circumstances, with locals suspecting the involvement of terrorists in their killings.

Poonch, Jan 08: A woman and three others were injured when a passenger vehicle met with an accident early Thursday morning in the Chaktru area of Mandi tehsil of Poonch district.

According to sources, locals and police immediately shifted the injured to District Hospital Poonch, where they are undergoing treatment.

Traffic police sources said that the passenger vehicle, bearing registration number JK-12-1245, was en route to Poonch from Mandi when the accident occurred In the Chaktru area of Mandi tehsil.

Rajouri, Jan 08: Security forces recovered and safely defused a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) during a joint cordon and search operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, officials said on Thursday.

Acting on a tip-off regarding suspicious movement in the forest area of Kallar in Dori Maal of Thanamandi, the Army and police launched a joint operation on Wednesday, they said.

During the search operation, some suspected material was found, which was closely examined by the forces and identified as a suspected IED weighing around 4 kg, they said.

The device was later destroyed through a controlled mechanism, they said.

Some empty shells were also recovered from the site and taken into possession. The area is being thoroughly searched, and the operation is ongoing, they said.

Jammu, Jan 7: The Leader of Opposition in J&K Legislative Assembly and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sunil Sharma on Wednesday lauded the decision of the National Medical Commission (NMC) to withdraw the Letter of Permission (LoP) granted to SMVDIME, Reasi, for running the MBBS course with 50 seats for the academic year 2025-26 and described it as a “historic move.”

Sharma, in a video statement issued to the press on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, evening, stated that the late January 6 night decision of NMC came after it found serious findings in the survey of its (NMC’s) Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) about non-compliance with minimum standards, leading to the recent surprise inspection of SMVDIME.

“Acting under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, which empowers MARB to conduct surprise evaluations of medical institutions without prior notice, a team of assessors recently carried out an inspection at the college. This inspection formed the basis of the subsequent adverse findings,” he said.

The Leader of Opposition also welcomed the decision of NMC to accommodate all students admitted in SMVDIME during counselling for AY 2025-26 in other medical institutions within J&K as supernumerary seats by the competent authority of the J&K government.

“For this, I extend my gratitude and also on behalf of my party to the Union Health Minister J P Nadda, NMC, and the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to make it happen, respecting the sentiments of those following Sanatan Dharma J&K and across the country, as the college is run by donations by a particular community,” he said.

Sunil Sharma also appreciated the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti (SAVDSS), as a conglomerate of like-minded organisations of J&K, by leading a peaceful movement for the cause, and extended gratitude to it.

However, he criticised Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the National Conference for giving a “Hindu-Muslim” spin to the issue related to the “matter of pure faith.”

“We repeatedly stated that we were not against the meritorious students. We never wanted to jeopardise the future of our meritorious students. It was not a question of Hindus and Muslims. The only point was that the people following Sanatan Dharma wanted their donations to be used only for the propagation of the religion. We wanted a Vedic Research Centre or Gurukul should be established there. But the Chief Minister tried to give it another spin. I believe that the NMC decision has come as a setback to the Chief Minister, who wanted to exploit the situation,” the Leader of Opposition said.

He also shared his happiness that the future of all the students admitted to SMVDIME was safeguarded.

Meanwhile, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti (SMVDSS), in a press conference, also welcomed the NMC decision and expressed gratitude to the central leadership, NMC, and the Lieutenant Governor in particular, for making consistent efforts to resolve the issue as per the aspirations of the people.