Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Bipin Rawat has said that anyone who obstructs the armed forces during anti-insurgency operations and those who are not supportive of the operations would be treated as ‘overground workers’ of terrorists. He further went on to say that locals who continue to support terrorists and display flags of ISIS would be treated as ‘anti-nationals’ and would be dealt with as such.

This statement comes in a day after Major Satish Dahiya of the 30 Rashtriya Rifles was martyred while fighting terrorists in Bandipura and Handwara in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday (14 February). Although he managed to neutralise all four terrorists before he succumbed to his death in a hospital, it is alleged that locals began pelting stones at the armed forces in order to give cover to the terrorists.

Major Dahiya was among the four soldiers martyred on Tuesday in a major anti-insurgency operation that saw the deaths of four terrorists as well.

With inputs from ANI