Rusted AK-47 Rifle Recovered from Stream in Rajouri During Pre-Republic Day Patrol

Jammu | January 25, 2026 — As part of the heightened security measures ahead of Republic Day, the Jammu and Kashmir Police recovered a rusted AK-47 assault rifle from a water body in the Rajouri district on Sunday.

The weapon was discovered entangled among stones on the banks of a stream in the Sunderbani area during an intensified patrolling exercise. Officials confirmed that the rifle was immediately seized by the security teams scouring the border district for any suspicious activity.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the recovered weapon is linked to a 2021 encounter in the Sunderbani forest, where security forces eliminated three terrorists. At the time of the operation, only two AK rifles were recovered from the site.

Authorities believed the third weapon had fallen into the nearby stream and was carried away by the strong water current. The discovery of this rusted rifle appears to close a years-old chapter of that specific operation, while also highlighting the effectiveness of current high-alert sweeps in the region.