Residents pour in to mourn death of army men

Hameer Singh Pokhriyal was a resident of Uttarkashi district while Mandeep Singh hailed from Pauri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand.

Residents of the home town of two soldiers, Riflemen Hameer Singh Pokhriyal (27), and Mandeep Singh (26), who were among the four killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, thronged their house to mourn their death on Wednesday. The two men, who were with Indian Army’s Rahtriya Rifles in Jammu & Kashmir, were killed in an encounter with militants along with two other army personnel in North Kahsmir’s Gurez sector.

The mortal remains of Rifleman Mandeep Singh Rawat being taken for wreath laying ceremony at Palam Tecnical area in New Delhi on Wednesday.(PTI)

Hameer Singh Pokhriyal was a resident of Uttarkashi district while Mandeep Singh hailed from Pauri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand.

Hameer was a native of Pokhriyal village in Uttarkashi district but later moved to Gumaniwala area in Rishikesh with his family. Hameer, who is survived by his wife and daughter, joined Indian Army’s Garhwal Rifles in 2010 and was later attached to 36 Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu & Kashmir. Hameer’s father Jayendra Singh Pokhriyal is also in armed forces and at present deployed as sub-inspector in Sasashtra Seema Bal in Jammu & Kahsmir.

After his death on Tuesday, army officials informed Hameer’s younger brother about the demise. Hameer had earlier come to visit his family earlier this year and returned on June 3.

Mandeep was a native of Kotdwar town in Pauri Garhwal district. He joined Indian Army with Garhwal Rifles in 2012 and was later attached with Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu & Kashmir.

Mandeep’s father is an ex-serviceman while his younger brother is a serving army man in Jammu & Kashmir. His family was planning to get him married this year. Mandeep had last spoken to his mother on Monday evening and assured her of his well being. On Tuesday evening, as soon as the residents of the area came to know about his death, they rushed to his house to offer condolences.

On Wednesday evening, bodies of both the soldiers arrived at Jolly Grant airport, Dehradun from where they were taken to their native places for last rites.