Militants on Thursday took three persons hostage after kidnapping them from a hamlet in Trikuta Hills of Katra area in Jammu, where the famous cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi is located, triggering a gunbattle with Village Defence Committee (VDC) members.
A group of heavily-armed militants struck hilly hamlets of Dhal-Jasarkote-Ladu Karea of Trikuta hills in Udhampur district and kidnapped three people late Thursday afternoon, abducted three persons and escaped towards upper reaches, official sources said.
Members of Village Defence Committee (VDC) launched a search operation and engaged the militants in a gunbattle that raged till late Thursday evening, the sources said. Bureau Report