Handwara Police, backed by the 21st Rashtriya Rifles and the 92nd Battalion CRPF, broke into an underground terror hideout in Nagda Nar forest early Sunday, uncovering a cache that included an AK‑47 rifle, three grenades, 857 AK‑47 rounds, 192 PIKA rounds, eight magazines, a silencer and 83 pistol rounds.
Handwara has been a flashpoint for insurgent activity for more than two decades, and this discovery follows a string of bomb attacks that have rattled the region.
The joint team was guided by intelligence that the site had been abandoned yet used as a dumping ground; they neutralized the bunker and secured the area. Senior officer Ajay Singh told reporters that the operation was swift and precise.
Local farmer Ramesh Kumar, who lives two kilometres from the forest, said he had noticed odd movements in the woods weeks before the raid. He praised the forces for removing a potential threat to the community.
Police have registered FIR No. 232 under the Indian Penal Code and are probing the chain of supply. The CRPF will now interrogate suspects linked to the cache while intelligence agencies analyse the recovered material for patterns.
Authorities anticipate that the findings will help dismantle the network that supplied arms to militants in Handwara and adjoining areas.