Three CRPF Personnel Injured in Terror Attack in Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir

November 11, 2026 Faizan Altaf

Three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were injured, one of them critically, when attackers opened fire at a security checkpoint in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, 11 November 2026. The attack took place in the afternoon at Akhran, near Mir Bazar in south Kashmir, and a large search operation is now under way to find the attackers.

The shooting happened at around 2.15 pm, when the attackers fired at CRPF personnel deployed at a naka — a roadside checkpoint — and then fled. The three injured men were taken to hospital in the neighbouring Anantnag district, and the most seriously wounded of them was later airlifted to an Army hospital in Srinagar. No group had claimed responsibility for the attack at the time of reporting, and security agencies suspect the involvement of a local commander of the banned group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

This article explains what happened in Kulgam, who was injured, what the security forces are doing now, and what is still unclear about the attack.

At a glance

What happened: Attackers opened fire at a CRPF checkpoint at Akhran, near Mir Bazar in Kulgam district, Jammu and Kashmir, at around 2.15 pm on Wednesday, 11 November 2026.
Who was hurt: Three CRPF personnel of the 46th Battalion were injured — Head Constable Somveer Singh, Constable Rakesh Dass and Constable Santosh Chandru. Chandru, who was hit in the abdomen and spine, was described as critical and was airlifted to the Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar.
What the attackers did: They fired a burst of shots at the checkpoint and fled. CCTV footage showed nearly 30 rounds fired in the first 15 seconds.
What is happening now: A massive search operation is under way in the area. A phone and a SIM card were recovered from the scene. The CRPF has briefed India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, and a high-level meeting was held at the ministry.
What is still unclear: Reports differ on how the attackers arrived and escaped, and no group has claimed responsibility. Security agencies suspect a local LeT commander, but that has not been confirmed.

What happened at the checkpoint

The attack took place at a CRPF naka at Akhran, near Mir Bazar, in Kulgam district. The spot is about 75 kilometres from Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, and roughly a kilometre from the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway, the region’s main road link. The checkpoint is manned by personnel of the CRPF’s 46th Battalion.

According to officials quoted by the Press Trust of India (PTI), two heavily armed attackers emerged from a forested area, opened fire at the checkpoint, and then disappeared back into the dense vegetation. Other reports, including from NDTV and The Tribune, described the attackers as motorcycle-borne men who fired at the personnel and fled on the bike. The Jammu and Kashmir Police later said that reports about a motorcycle being used in the attack were false, according to The Tribune — so exactly how the attackers arrived and left is one of the details that is still not settled.

What is clear is the speed and intensity of the firing. CCTV footage from the area, reported by NDTV Profit, showed nearly 30 rounds being fired in the first 15 seconds, followed by about a dozen more shots within the next minute. The personnel at the checkpoint were caught in that burst of fire before the attackers fled.

The attack came hours before Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, was due to attend the Veshow festival at the Government Degree College in the area, according to ETV Bharat. There is no suggestion that the festival was the target, but the timing underlines how brazen the attack was — in daylight, close to a main highway, and on a day when a senior official was visiting the district.

The three injured personnel

The three injured CRPF men have been identified as Head Constable Somveer Singh, Constable Rakesh Dass and Constable Santosh Chandru. All three belong to the 46th Battalion, and they come from three different Indian states — Singh from Madhya Pradesh, Dass from Assam and Chandru from West Bengal.

Their injuries, as reported by officials and hospital sources, were:

Santosh Chandru suffered gunshot wounds to his abdomen and spine. He was described as being in critical condition and was later airlifted to the Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar for specialist treatment.
Rakesh Dass was hit in the leg. His condition was reported to be stable.
Somveer Singh was hit in his left arm, with one report describing it as a grazing bullet wound. He was also reported to be stable.

The injured men were first taken to the Government Medical College hospital in Anantnag, about 22 kilometres from the attack site. Later reporting by NDTV said all three were out of danger, but other reports on the same day continued to describe Chandru as critical — so his exact condition should be treated as still developing until the hospital or the CRPF gives a fresh update.

CRPF Director General G.P. Singh confirmed the number of injured personnel to The Hindu and said that operations were going on to catch the attackers and that the injured men would be given the best possible treatment.

The search operation and the suspected commander

Security forces moved quickly after the shooting. The area around Akhran and Mir Bazar was cordoned off, and a massive search operation was launched to trace the attackers. According to PTI, a Motorola mobile phone and a SIM card were recovered from the scene, and investigators are examining them for clues about the attackers and their contacts.

Security agencies suspect the involvement of Mohammed Lateef Bhat, a local commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the banned militant group. According to PTI, Bhat had previously escaped a security operation in Shopian, a neighbouring district, in July. That suspicion has been reported by several outlets, but it is important to be clear: it is a suspicion, not a confirmed fact, and no official statement has yet named the attackers.

The CRPF was briefing the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi on the attack, and a high-level meeting was under way at the ministry to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, according to Times Now and The Wire. That is the standard response after an attack on security forces in the region, but it also shows that the incident is being taken seriously at the highest level of the government.

What is still unclear

For a story that has been widely reported, several basic facts about the Kulgam attack are still not settled. That matters, because the details shape how the attack is understood.

First, how the attackers arrived and escaped. Some reports say they came on a motorcycle; PTI’s account says they emerged from a forested area on foot; and the Jammu and Kashmir Police have said the motorcycle reports are false. Until the police or the CRPF give a clear account, this detail should be treated as unresolved.

Second, who carried out the attack. The suspicion around a local LeT commander has been widely reported, but no group has claimed responsibility, and no attacker has been identified by name in an official statement. The phone and SIM card recovered from the scene may help, but nothing has been announced about what they contain.

Third, the condition of the most seriously injured man. Reports on Wednesday evening differed: some said he was critical and had been airlifted to Srinagar, while a later update said all three men were out of danger. The safest reading is that he was seriously hurt, that he was moved to a specialist military hospital, and that his condition was still being monitored.

Why Kulgam matters

To understand why this attack matters, it helps to know where it happened. Kulgam is a district in south Kashmir, a part of Jammu and Kashmir that has seen regular militant violence over many years. It sits close to Shopian and Anantnag, districts that have also seen attacks on security forces, and it lies on the route of the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway, the road that connects the Kashmir Valley with the rest of India.

The CRPF is India’s largest paramilitary force, and it plays a central role in security in Jammu and Kashmir. Its personnel man checkpoints — nakas — on roads across the region, carry out patrols, and guard installations. Those checkpoints are a visible part of everyday life in the Valley, and they are also targets: a small group of attackers can fire at a checkpoint and disappear into nearby orchards, forests or lanes before reinforcements arrive. Similar attacks on security posts have happened elsewhere in the region in recent weeks — an ambush on a police post in Kohat killed 11 officers, and militants struck a checkpost in Hangu, killing a policeman and abducting three others.

That is what appears to have happened at Akhran. The checkpoint was close to a main road and a built-up area, but the attackers were able to fire a large number of rounds in seconds and then vanish. It is a pattern seen in other attacks in south Kashmir, where the terrain — orchards, forests and villages close to the road — gives attackers cover to escape.

The attack also comes at a sensitive time for the region. Jammu and Kashmir has been under direct rule from New Delhi since 2019, when the region’s special constitutional status was removed, and the government has repeatedly said that militancy is declining and normal life is returning. Attacks like the one in Kulgam test that claim, and they are quickly picked up by opposition politicians.

The political reaction

The opposition Congress party was quick to question the government’s claims about normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir after the attack, according to The Wire. The party pointed to the shooting as evidence that the security situation in the region is not as settled as the government says it is.

That political argument is likely to continue. The government, for its part, usually responds to such attacks by pointing to the security forces’ operations against militants and by saying that the overall number of incidents has fallen. Neither side’s claims can be settled by a single incident, but each attack becomes part of that larger argument about the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

For the people of Kulgam, the immediate effect is more practical: cordons, searches, and a heavier security presence in the days after an attack. Checkpoints are tightened, movement can be slowed, and the search for the attackers can disrupt daily life in the surrounding villages.

What happens next

Several things are worth watching in the coming days.

First, whether the search operation finds the attackers. The security forces have cordoned off the area and are searching the forests and villages around Akhran and Mir Bazar. The phone and SIM card found at the scene may give investigators leads, but arrests in such cases often take days or weeks, if they happen at all.

Second, whether the police or the CRPF clarify how the attack was carried out. The conflicting accounts about the motorcycle and the attackers’ escape route need an official explanation, and that will also help establish whether the suspected LeT commander was involved.

Third, the condition of Santosh Chandru, the critically injured constable. His treatment at the 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar will be followed closely, and any update from the hospital or the CRPF will settle the conflicting reports about his condition.

Fourth, whether any group claims responsibility. If a claim comes, it will say something about which group is active in south Kashmir at the moment. If none comes, the attack will remain officially unattributed, as many such shootings do.

And finally, whether there are further attacks. A single shooting does not by itself show a trend, but security forces in Jammu and Kashmir will be watching for follow-up incidents, particularly in the same belt of south Kashmir.

Frequently asked questions

Where did the Kulgam attack happen?

At a CRPF checkpoint at Akhran, near Mir Bazar, in Kulgam district of south Kashmir, about 75 kilometres from Srinagar and roughly a kilometre from the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway.

How many CRPF personnel were injured?

Three: Head Constable Somveer Singh, Constable Rakesh Dass and Constable Santosh Chandru, all of the 46th Battalion. Chandru, who was wounded in the abdomen and spine, was described as critical and airlifted to the Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar. The other two were reported to be stable.

Who carried out the attack?

No group has claimed responsibility. Security agencies suspect the involvement of Mohammed Lateef Bhat, a local commander of the banned group Lashkar-e-Taiba, but that has not been confirmed.

What is a naka?

A naka is a roadside security checkpoint, usually manned by police or paramilitary personnel, where vehicles and people can be stopped and checked. CRPF nakas are common on roads across Jammu and Kashmir.

What happened to the attackers?

They fled immediately after the shooting. A large search operation is under way, and a mobile phone and a SIM card were recovered from the scene.

Sources

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.

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