Two Missing Police Officers Found Shot Dead in Kishtwar

Two Special Police Officers, Babi Chand, 57, and Rashpal Kumar, 45, were found shot dead in Kishtwar district on Thursday after going missing while travelling to an Army post, officials said. Their service weapons were missing, and the circumstances of the killings had not been established.

The officers were attached to the Jammu and Kashmir Police Special Operations Group and posted at Kiyar village in the remote Dachhan area. Officials said they were travelling from their camp toward an Army post at Dharna-Marwah on Wednesday when they failed to arrive. Their disappearance prompted police and Army personnel to search the surrounding area.

Search teams recovered the bodies in Dachhan, with bullet injuries reported on both men. Officials also said the weapons they carried were not found. Those details have raised the possibility of militant involvement, but officials cautioned that responsibility and motive remain undetermined and that the circumstances require investigation.

The search covered forested and mountainous terrain. One account said specialised teams used drones and sniffer dogs and expanded the search around Kiyar village and along the route toward Dharna-Marwah....