Anantnag: Aiming to detect Militants who might be hiding in wall cavities or false ceilings, the Army will now use ‘through-the-wall’ radar imaging during counter-insurgency operations in the Valley.A few such radar systems have already been imported by the Army, official sources said, explaining that the technology would help in more precise and effective anti-military operations. It would enable security forces to get the pinpointed location of terrorists hiding inside homes in congested areas and also avoid civilian casualties. On more than one occasion, the Army and the Special Operations Group of the Jammu and Kashmir Police have had to return without engaging with militants despite specific intelligence inputs.Local informers later conveyed that the terrorists were hiding in a specially created false ceiling or an underground cavity in the same house that had been raided, said a senior officer involved in one such anti-militancy drive. This happened on July 8 last year as well when the security forces gunned down Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The first time they tried to get him, they couldn’t locate any Militants in the house in a village in south Kashmir’s Kokernag area despite precise intelligence inputs.The Commanding Officer and his men, it is learnt, entered the house twice but were unable to find any Militants who were hiding in a false ceiling. During the third round of searches, the hiding militants gave themselves away when they fired at Army men. It was only after that that the three men, including Burhan Wani, were killed, leading to unrest in the Valley. Often, troops face hostile crowds when they are unable to locate a terrorist at a house notified by human and technically generated intelligence. Though the Army has imported only a few such radars, officials are hopeful that the number will go up once their utility is put to test. — PTI
