The toughest task for the troops during the 60-hour long anti-militancy operation in Anantnag’s Kokernag was retrieval of the bodies of the three slain officers, including a Colonel and Major from the Army and a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) from the J&K Police, amid enemy fire.
Official sources said DSP Himayun Bhat, posted with the police Special Operations Group (SOG) that is in charge of counter-insurgency operations, was alive and in touch with police officers for “six hours after being hit by bullets on Wednesday afternoon”. DSP Bhat also spoke to his family after he was hit. He was a father of a month-old son.
The Army’s attempt to shift the injured officers by helicopter failed due to the tough topography and the apparent threat of militant bullets hitting it. Sources said the bodies of the officers had fallen on steep slopes with thick vegetation. Physical evacuation was hindered by militants’ fire the whole day on Wednesday.
