Srinagar: The Army on Monday paid homage to two of its jawans who lost their lives while fighting militants in Nagabal village of Frisal area in J&K’s southern Kulgam district on Sunday. Four militants and a civilian were also killed and an Army Major and a few other soldiers and a member of local police’s counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) were injured in the clash.
A ceremony was held at the Chinar (15) Corps headquarters in Badami Bagh Cantonment here in which officers and jawans paid glowing tributes to the sacrifices made by Lance Naik Bhandoriya Gopal Singh and Sepoy Raghubeer Singh. Major General K.K. Pant, Chief of Staff Chinar Corps, laid wreaths on behalf of the Commander and all ranks of the Corps.
Tributes were also paid by officials from civil administration and other security agencies including Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir, Baseer Ahmed Khan, IG Police, S.J.M. Gillani, and Joint Director Intelligence Bureau.
“It called for raw courage to approach a house where the terrorists were confirmed to be hiding — even more so when the response had to be very guarded given the fact that the terrorists had held a hostage in that house,” said defence spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia while paying tributes to the slain soldiers. He added that the duo “epitomised just that form of selfless courage as they were the leading buddy pair of the team that launched the operations against the terrorists and eventually eliminated them.” He further said, “The duo embraced martyrdom while fighting the terrorists who opened indiscriminate fire as the security forces closed in on the suspect house.”
The 33-year-old Lance Naik Gopal Singh, who was a resident of village Gokulchand Chali Chamanpura in Ahmedabad, Guajrat and served the Army for 14 years is survived by his wife Mrs B Hemavati. Sepoy Raghubeer Singh was 31-years-old and had served for 13 years. He belonged to village Makholi in Chamoli, Uttarakhand and is survived by his wife Mrs Rekha and a six-year-old son.
“The Army salutes the sacrifice of the martyrs and stands in solidarity with the bereaved families and it will forever remain the Army’s responsibility to ensure they lead a life of dignity and pride,” a statement issued here said.
The mortal remains of the slain soldiers were later on Monday airlifted to Delhi where from these were scheduled to be taken to their native places for last rites.
