Fresh searches launched in Kathua amid thick fog

Amid a thick layer of fog covering border areas in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, security forces on Thursday launched a search operation along the border with Pakistan as a preventive measure, officials said.

The operation came in the wake of threat perceptions related to possible infiltration or weapon drops via drones in the district’s border belt. The Special Operation Group of the J&K Police conducted searches in various areas along the district’s International Border (IB), officials said, emphasising that the risk of infiltration increases under the cover of dense fog.

The Border Security Force (BSF) has already put in place a multi-tier security set up along the IB as a precautionary measure to foil infiltration bids, the officials added.

In addition to the BSF’s security grid along the IB, a second tier is in place consisting of the border police, while a third tier is made up of Village Defence Groups as part of the comprehensive anti-infiltration set up, officials said.