Jammu and Kashmir cops carry out search operations after suspected Pakistani drones hover within Indian territory

Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Police carried out searches in Pargwal area near the International Border (IB) here after local residents allegedly spotted a flying object believed to be a drone, officials said on Friday. The operation was launched in several villages of Pargwal the previous evening, shortly after a local resident noticed a blinking light in the sky at around 8.30 pm and alerted fellow villagers, they said. The search operation was, however, suspended later that night and resumed at around 5 am but nothing objectionable was recovered during the operation. Three suspected Pakistani drones were sighted simultaneously over Bari-Brahmana, Chiladya and Gagwal areas in Samba district around the same time on July 29. A massive combing operation was carried out in the areas where the movement of the suspected drones was picked up throughout the night and in the morning. However, nothing was found on the ground, a police official said. Personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) fired a couple of rounds towards one of the drones in Chiladya before it returned to the Pakistani side, officials said. The other two drones disappeared from the sky shortly after hovering over sensitive security installations at Bari Brahmana and along Jammu-Pathankot highway in Gagwal, they said. The latest sightings were recorded nearly a week after police shot down a Pakistani drone carrying five kilograms of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) material in the border belt of Kanachak near here. There has been a spurt in drone activities, especially after the bombing of Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Jammu on June 27, resulting in injuries to two security personnel. Suspected Pakistani drones were also spotted hovering over three different locations in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The flying objects were sighted simultaneously over Bari-Brahmana, Chiladya and Gagwal areas around 8.30 pm on Thursday, the officials said.