22-year-old soldier injured in stone throwing in Jammu and Kashmir, dies

Rajendra Singh was fatally injured during stone pelting near Anantnag bypass tri junction on the national highway on Thursday evening.

A 22-year-old soldier injured when protesters threw stones at an army convoy in south Kashmir’s Anantnag has died, an army officer said on Friday.

Rajendra Singh was part of a Quick Reaction Team that was providing security to a Border Roads Organisation convoy.(ANI Photo)

Sepoy Rajinder Singh was travelling in the convoy which was attacked near Anantnag bypass tri-junction on Thursday evening.

“Around 6 pm, when the convoy was passing through the highway, few youths hurled stones at the vehicle and sepoy Rajinder got injured after being hit by a stone. He was shifted to army’s base hospital,’’ Defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.

He died late on Thursday night.

Rajinder Singh was part of a Quick Reaction Team that was providing security to the Border Roads Organisation convoy.

Singh had joined army in 2016 and hailed from Uttarakhand.

Rajinder Singh died hours before another soldier, Ngamsiamliana, was killed in a gun-battle with militants in Baramulla, about 110 km from Anantnag. He had joined the army just five years ago.

On Friday morning at Malganipora, Behrampora on the outskirts of the Sopore town, the army and police established a cordon around the village after inputs were received about militant presence in the village. Officials said the cordon and search operation turned into an encounter in which two unidentified militants and a soldier was killed.

Colonel Rajesh Kalia said two militants were killed and one soldier also lost his life in the encounter. He identified the soldier as Lance naik Barjesh Kumar of 22 Rashtriya Rifles. ‘’The bodies of militants were handed over to police for identification.’’

Kalia said that two more soldiers lost their lives in south Kashmir’s Tral and Anantnag area. “A soldier was killed and another injured in a standoff attack by militants on an army camp at Lurgam Tral late last night. The soldier was identified as sepoy Ngamsiamliana who was from Mizoram and had joined army five years ago.’’