Srinagar, Dec 19: Five terrorists were killed and 2 Army soldiers injured on Thursday in a fierce gunfight in J&K’s Kulgam district.

Officials said that five terrorists were killed and two soldiers injured in a fierce encounter between the joint forces and holed up terrorists in Kadder village of Behibagh area of Kulgam district today.

This is the largest number of terrorists killed in a single operation by the security forces in J&K in 2024.

“Joint forces including 34 Rashtriya Rifles, police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) started a CASO (Cordon & Search Operation) in Kadder village after receiving information about a group of terrorists hiding inside the village.

“As the joint forces closed on the hiding terrorists, the ultras fired triggering an encounter in which five terrorists were killed and two Army soldiers injured.

“The identity of the slain terrorists is being ascertained. The injured soldiers have been evacuated to hospital for treatment. Search operation now continues in the area”, officials said.

Security forces say that the killing of five terrorists in Kulgam is a major success for the joint forces in their relentless pursuit to dismantle the terror ecosystem in J&K.

Security forces have started an aggressive campaign against terrorists, their Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and sympathisers in order to dismantle the terror ecosystem in J&K.

Properties worth multiples of crores belonging to drug smugglers and peddlers have been attached in Kashmir Valley after obtaining requisite orders from the competent authority.

LG Manoj Sinha has been chairing top level security meetings. During these meetings he has given clear orders to the security forces to go all-out against the terror ecosystem.

Union Home Minister, Amit Shah is chairing a top level security review meeting regarding J&K today in Delhi.

Chiefs of Intelligence agencies, police, CAPFs and others connected with the anti-terrorist grid in J&K will attend the meeting.

Nagpur, Dec 18: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday took a dig at Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray over his meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, saying it was like “meet this one, meet that one and go home next day.”

He thereby downplayed the meeting between Thackeray and Fadnavis.

“Anyone can meet the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister is the head of the state. The opposition party also meets him. The leaders of other parties of the opposition party also meet him. I see a radical change in those who criticised him severely, talked about ending him, and talked about putting him in jail. It is not wrong to meet Devendra Fadnavis,” said Shinde.

On the other hand, Shiv Sena legislator and former minister Deepak Kesarkar said “If Uddhav Thackeray had held such a meeting earlier (with Devendra Fadnavis), Shiv Sena would not have been divided into two.”

“Earlier, Uddhav Thackeray had not even responded to Devendra Fadnavis’ telephonic calls. Uddhav Thackeray abandoned Balasaheb Thackeray’s idea of Hindutva for the post of Chief Minister. Eknath Shinde had no other demand. Eknath Shinde’s only demand was that we should go with the idea of Hindutva. We should not go with the Congress. But if Uddhav Thackeray had met Devendra Fadnavis then, all this would not have happened. Devendra Fadnavis called Uddhav Thackeray many times in 2019. But now it is too late. Now the MahaYuti government has come back to power again,” said Kesarkar.

Meanwhile, Shinde slammed the opposition for their campaign against EVMs, saying that “When the poll results go against them, allegations are made against EVMs.”

“When the results are in favour of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, then EVMs are good. For them, the Election Commission is good. The Supreme Court and the High Court are also good. When the results are against them, then they start blaming EVMs. The opposition has been doing this for the last few days. In 2004 and 2009, voting was done on EVMs and the Congress won. When you win, you praise that system,” he added.

“Even the Supreme Court said that when you win, you don’t come to us and when you lose, you come to us. This is a double standard. After winning the Lok Sabha elections, you (the opposition) didn’t talk about EVMs. Omar Abdullah has also slammed the Congress,” said Eknath Shinde.

He said that Congress should not insult the mandate otherwise the people will make them sit at home. Shinde also ridiculed Uddhav Thackeray for his demand that the appointment of Election Commissioner be made through election.

Chandigarh, Dec 18: Railway commuters faced inconvenience in Punjab on Wednesday after farmers squatted on rail tracks in support of their long-pending demands, including the legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

However, no untoward incident was reported in the state. The protest, at the call of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, was carried out at over 100 locations in the state, badly impacting the railway services.

Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarwan Singh Pandher claimed that the three-hour “rail roko” call got a good response in the state.

The impact of the protest was more viable in Moga, Faridkot, Ferozepur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Batala, Qadian, Phillaur, Tanda, Dasuya, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana and Sunam towns.

Farmers of both outfits have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.

While hearing a petition, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said the court’s doors were “always open” to the demands and suggestions of protesting farmers, after they refused to engage with the Punjab government-formed committee.

The Punjab government told the apex court that despite several meetings with fasting farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, the farmers had rejected interactions with the state’s high-powered committee.

Protesting farmers, whose bid to enter Haryana in support of their long-pending demands was foiled thrice, halted the trains to lodge their protest and press their demands.

The 70-year-old cancer patient Dallewal has been fasting at Khanauri, the border point between Punjab and Haryana, since November 26 in support of their demands that included loan waiver and reforms to improve conditions in the agricultural sector.