Security forces launched a sweeping manhunt across the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district on Wednesday after two Special Police Officers vanished on patrol.
They never arrived.
The missing personnel—identified as 57-year-old Babi Chand and 45-year-old Rashpal Kumar—belong to the Special Operations Group (SOG) stationed at Kiyar village in Dachhan. Both men walked out of the Kiyar SOG camp bound for an Indian Army post at Dharna-Marwah across difficult, forested terrain. When the hours slipped past and the officers failed to check in at the perimeter gates, commanders sounded the alarm.
Then came the gunfire.
Security officials tracked reports of rifle fire echoing through the dense Dachhan forest at approximately 3:30 PM, right along the mountainous path the two men were traversing. Initial calls to their mobile handsets connected and rang out unanswered. Within minutes, both devices switched off completely, severing contact and plunging the ridge line into silence.
The terrain is unforgiving. High altitudes, isolated tracks, and thick pine cover isolate the higher reaches of Dachhan from rapid road access, making foot patrols between isolated security detachments perilous.
| Patrol Detail | Official Record |
|---|---|
| Missing Personnel | SPO Babi Chand (57) & SPO Rashpal Kumar (45) |
| Police Attachment | Special Operations Group (SOG), Kiyar Camp |
| Assigned Corridor | Kiyar Village to Dharna-Marwah Army Post |
| Search Contingent | J&K Police and Army Rashtriya Rifles |
| Critical Incident | Gunfire reported in forest at ~3:30 PM; phones dead |
Units from the Indian Army's Rashtriya Rifles and local police teams quickly pushed up the slopes, fanning out into the ridgelines to trace the missing men. Ground teams cut through the mountain ravines, searching rock faces, forest clearings, and seasonal shepherd tracks along the Kiyar-Dharna corridor.
Officials confirmed that no armed militant group has claimed responsibility, and investigators have not formally determined whether an ambush took place. Yet the sudden silence has put security networks on alert. Kishtwar's rugged, forested mountains have witnessed intermittent terror encounters and hideout busts over recent years, leaving forward garrisons continuously guarded against sudden strikes along isolated transit corridors.
Search parties remain deployed in the Dachhan woods as night operations proceed to locate both officers and secure the trail.