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'Family can't bear the loss': Sister of rifleman killed in Rajouri terror attack
Lakshmanan D was one among three army personnel who made the supreme sacrifice for the country after two terrorists carried out a 'fidayeen' attack on an army camp in Jammu's Rajouri district in the early hours.
On the festival of Raksha Bandhan, the family of rifleman Lakshmanan D plunged into the gloom in T Pudupatti village in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu on Thursday. Lakshmanan was one among three army personnel who made the supreme sacrifice for the country after two terrorists carried out a 'fidayeen' attack on an army camp in Jammu's Rajouri district in the early hours.
Both attackers were gunned down in the four-hour firefight that followed.
An emotional Bama Priya, sister of Lakshmanan, said she is proud that her brother sacrificed his life for the country, but the family cannot bear the loss.
“Our family depended on his income. My mother can't hear and my father can't walk. The government must provide a job to our brother,” Priya told news agency ANI.
The two other soldiers killed in the attack were subedar Rajendra Prasad of Maligoven village in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu district and rifleman Manoj Kumar of Shahjahanpur village in Haryana's Faridabad.
"In the early hours on Thursday, alert sentries of the Indian Army post at Parghal, in Rajouri district detected suspicious persons approaching their post taking advantage of the inclement weather and dense foliage," PRO (defence) Jammu Lt Col Devender Anand said.
The sentries challenged the two terrorists who lobbed grenades while attempting to gain entry inside the post. However, alert troops cordoned the area and engaged them in a firefight thereby pinning them, he said.
Anand added that in the ensuing gunfight, the two terrorists were neutralised. Six soldiers of the army were injured in the operation and of them, three succumbed to injuries.
In a tweet, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha condemned the attack. "Strongly condemn despicable terrorist attack in Rajouri; tributes to brave soldiers who made supreme sacrifice. Heartfelt condolences to the families of the bravehearts martyred in the attack. We shall deal with evil designs of terrorists and their backers in a befitting manner," he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
