File photo for representation.
Jammu/New Delhi/Udhampur: Five Indian Army soldiers, including two officers were killed in action when the Indian troops were engaged in an encounter with militants in Jammu & Kashmir’s Rajouri district. Two terrorists are also reported to have been killed in the encounter, which started in the Kalakot forests region on Wednesday morning and ended on Thursday evening.
The Army has released the names of the fallen soldiers. They are Captain MV Pranjal, Captain Shubham Gupta, Havildar Abdul Majid, Lance Naik Sanjay Bisht and Paratrooper Sachin Laur.
General Manoj Pande #COAS and All Ranks of #IndianArmy salute the supreme sacrifice of #Bravehearts Captain Shubham Gupta, Captain MV Pranjal, Havildar Abdul Majid, Lance Naik Sanjay Bisht and Paratrooper Sachin Laur, who laid down their lives in the line of duty. #IndianArmy… https://t.co/7UkdfDsGJd
— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) November 24, 2023
The Army heald a wreath-laying ceremony at the Army General Hospital in Rajouri, in which the general officer commanding of Romeo Force, which the Rashtriya Rifles’ counterinsurgency force responsible for Poonch and Rajouri, along with senior police officers and government officials paid their tributes to the fallen soldiers.
The two terrorists who were killed belonged to the Pakistan-based outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. Among them, one has been identified as Quari, a Pakistani sniper and weapons expert who held a high rank in the outfit.
It may be noted that Pakistan-based terrorists have stepped up their attacks against India’s counterinsurgency forces in the area for a while now after a years-long lull. In May, terrorists lured Indian forces into an encounter in the area where they held advantageous ground. In that gunbattle, five Indian soldiers were killed in action, including a J&K Police deputy superintendent.
